Ties that Bind
by Chakat StarDust
Summary: The spell is meant to keep him from running. It binds him to someone and makes it painful to go without that one person's touch for too long. In which Loki is banished and bound to a disgruntled cat, there's a frost giant in SHIELD and everything is just completely mad. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Star: New story, with a couple of new OCs to play around with. I own nothing but the plot, my ocs appear to own me, and so on with the story.

It had been three months since the battle of New York and it was only now that a decision had been made on what to do with Loki. Thor had been going back and forth between the Avengers and Asgard, since the Bifrost had been repaired and a lot had changed in those three months. Finally now his parents and his friends would meet his new friends. He only hoped that they would like each other.

Loki's wrists were bound and he wore only a simple shirt and leggings, but he held his head high, a sneer on his thin lips. Thor hated to look at him like this, hated to be reminded that he had failed as a brother, and his failure had nearly destroyed an entire world of innocent beings. He hoped that having Loki close would give them both a chance to mend the bond between them. A poisonous green-eyed glare made him look forward again.

Heimdall nodded at them as they passed, giving Thor a knowing look as he went by. Of course Heimdall would know what worried Thor as much as it did, waiting for them in Midgard. He rubbed his hands together; he was confident that his friends would like his new friends, but only once they got over their initial reactions. He took a deep breath and let the Bifrost take him.

They landed on the balcony of the Stark Tower, renamed the Avengers Tower, by Tony himself. Thor led the way inside, hearing music loudly playing already, even though it seemed to be very early, the sun only just coming up over the horizon. He pulled open the door and went inside, grinning.

Clint noticed him first, but still chucked the ball he was holding at Tony's head. Tony yelped and glared at Clint, but grinned when he saw Thor. "BIG MAN!" yelled the last one awake, jumping up and charging at him. There were shouts and suddenly Sif was in front of him, brandishing her sword at the newcomer, who lifted their hands and smiled disarmingly. Thor understood why Sif was so concerned, Emmy was a Frost Giant after all.

"Easy, Sif." He said, laying a hand on the shield maiden's shoulder.

"Easy? She's a Jotun!"

"Shi." Emmy corrected.

"Excuse me?" Sif glared at the tall blue creature. Emmy grinned in a friendly manner, revealing crooked front teeth and a gap between the two front that gave her a disarming look.

"I'm not a female, nor am I a male." Shi explained in her rolling Scottish accent. "I'm a hermaphrodite, like most Frost Giants, which means I've got both male and female parts, so the pronouns you use are shi and hir." Shi explained patiently. "To add to that I am only a half giant, which should be obvious."

Emmy had a point. Shi was easily over seven feet tall, all muscle, coloured like a Jotun with blue skin, markings and red eyes, but had a more human-like body, very female-looking until you noticed the bulge in hir pants. Shi had long wildly curly black hair, a narrow face with swirled markings on her cheeks and three parallel lines on hir forehead. Hir left eyebrow was cut through by a nearly vertical scar and hir nose was crooked from being broken so many times. Shi wore a low cut t-shirt today, which showed off hir impressive bust along with a pair of tight jeans that hugged hir curvy hips and big muscular thighs.

"Half giant? What else then?" Sif demanded. Emmy shrugged, looking unconcerned.

"My da was human, ma was a full-blood Jotun. I've lived here on Earth all my life." Emmy explained. "Emilia Smith, former blacksmith, knight, pilot and current SHIELD agent, at your service." Shi gave Sif a dramatic bow, extending one black-nailed hand. Sif looked at hir in disgust. "No, alright, now if you'll excuse me, I believe I haven't gotten my hug yet."

Thor stepped around Sif, grinning, and Emmy grabbed him around the middle and squeezed, lifting him right off his feet. "I was only gone two days!" Thor laughed as Emmy put him back down.

"Too long, too quiet around here." Shi laughed in reply.

"The creature did not burn you." Sif said, sounding mystified.

"It's a controlled ability." Emmy sighed, rolling hir eyes. "I have to actually want to cause frostbite in order for it to happen, that's for any Frost Giant. Goodness, what are they teaching these days?"

"Is that a quote?" Thor asked.

"Sort of, based off of a quote from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Emmy answered. "It's a book." Shi explained to Sif, winking at her. Sif looked unimpressed. "I don't think she likes me." Shi said, leaning her elbow on Thor's shoulder.

"Remember when we first met?" Thor asked.

"How could I forget?" Emmy grinned. "You tried to put Mjolnir through my head." Shi laughed. "It's a good thing Kitten got to you before you did."

"She didn't like me for a while." Thor remembered.

"Och, she holds grudges that one, I don't see the point of them." Emmy shrugged. "Besides, some of the best friends I've ever had tried to kill me first." Shi punched him in the shoulder and such was hir strength that shi actually made him step back a little to keep his balance.

"I doubt this creature is as innocent as you believe, look at the scars!" Sif said.

"I did say I was a knight, for a good few centuries, which means I went into battle." Shi touched the necklace that was in the form of a sword around her neck. "There was also jousting, and I've been in both the Great Wars, and now I'm in SHIELD, which isn't exactly what you would call a safe occupation. But yeah, I'm a warrior born, I'm Scottish, you see."

"What does that mean?" Sif demanded.

"Scots like two things, fighting and drinking and not necessarily in that order." Emmy said with a roguish grin. "I'm champion at both."

"I'm guessing you are not the mage that Thor has mentioned, then." Thor turned to look at his mother. Emmy eyed her for a moment and then smacked Thor in the shoulder.

"You never told me your ma was a looker." Shi accused. "Well, at least now I know where you get your gorgeous cheekbones from." Emmy winked flirtatiously at Frigga. Sif glared at Emmy. "Relax, I'm flirting, it's harmless. I'm in a relationship in any case, and she's obviously married, so I'm not going to make a move, I've got principles, you know."

"Monsters don't have principles." Sif growled.

"I see she's not going to like me for a long while." Emmy commented. "No, to answer the lovely Queen, I am no mage, disappointed my ma, I'll tell you that, but I always did take after my da, God rest both their souls." Shi crossed herself, a gesture which seemed to confuse Sif. "My partner is the mage, she is the reason I am part of the Avengers, seeing as they didn't need another bruiser with this big lad around, but Fury felt, after certain events, that a magic user on the team would be for the best."

"So why are you here, then?" Frigga asked. Thor could see that his mother was truly interested.

"Because SHIELD tries not to split up partners, especially when they work so well as my Kitten and I together." Emmy explained. "In any case she's the only one that's been able to put up with me for so long." Shi laughed. "I can be a bit… unorthodox, though most would call me a wee bit mad in the head." Shi shrugged. "I kind of agree with the assessment."

"We need your mage." The Allfather stated.

"She's sleeping, I can get her up, but she's not going to be pleasant to deal with." Emmy warned. The

Allfather just stared at hir. "Okay, I'll get her. One pissed off Kitten coming right up." Shi skipped off, up the winding staircase, singing Pretty Woman at the top of hir lungs. Director Fury and Agent Coulson came in just as shi disappeared.

"She getting Tess?" Coulson asked. Thor nodded and saw Loki's eyes bulge at the sight of the man he'd thought he'd killed in front of Thor. Coulson merely smiled politely at the disgraced Trickster. "I imagine she won't be very happy about being woken up."

"It is necessary." Frigga said.

"Hopefully she will feel the same way." Coulson replied politely.

"She is going to speaking to the AllFather, she will show respect." Sif said. Coulson looked at her for a moment.

"She's got a different idea of what kind of person deserves her respect." He said. He and Clint were the only ones who didn't flinch when a loud, ferocious, feline roar came from upstairs.

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Star: So there we go. I blame Emmy for this, because she's so damned loud and was becoming impatient with me. Yes, my characters run my life. In any case, review and let me know how it is.


	2. Chapter 2

Star: I own nothing!

"What was that?" Fandral asked, hand on his sword.

"Just our resident kitty-cat." Tony answered, looking unconcerned. Emmy came pelting down the stairs a moment later, giggling wildly. A black blur launched itself from the top of the stairs and landed on Emmy, knocking hir to the ground.

"You forgot to brush your teeth last night." Emmy's cheerful voice was muffled by the fact that hir face was entirely engulfed in the large black muzzle of what Thor now knew was a black leopard.

"Tess, we need you." Coulson said. The leopard growled low in her throat. "I know, but it is important." The leopard lifted her muzzle and favoured Coulson with a golden-eyed glare. She then huffed and stood up, on two legs. If one imagined a leopard that someone had taught to walk on two legs and rearranged the spine and digitigrade legs to make it easier, given the leopard crude hands instead of paws and given her long black dreadlocks, they would basically have Tess.

"Food." Tess growled.

"Yes, you can eat first, we'd rather not have you attempt to eat someone's face off." Coulson said. She muttered something that might have been a thank you and stalked towards the fridge, her long tail flicking in irritation behind her. She moved with the natural grace of a cat, stocky-bodied but leanly muscled. The light coming in through the window revealed the pattern of spots hidden by her dark fur.

"This is your mage?" Loki demanded scornfully. Tess' ears flicked at the sound of his voice, but she didn't look up from rummaging in the fridge. The oversized t-shirt t she was wearing that only hinted at the feminine curves that she had was certainly Emmy's, which meant that she'd likely had a bad night for sleeping. She always wanted Emmy's scent around her when she wasn't feeling good.

"Yup, the oversized house cat." Tony said cheerily.

"I will _end_ you Stark." Tess growled, downing an entire package of bacon.

"Aww, I was going to eat that." Clint whined.

"Tough." Tess said. She yawned widely, showing off her impressive set of fangs and flexed her claws. She took one of the many strings bound around her wrists and tied her dreads back. "Alright, I feel mildly human again."

"Again, this is your mage?" Loki scoffed. Tess turned to him then, cocking her head and considering him with a predatory stare.

"Big talk from the god who couldn't even take over a little backwater planet with an entire army while he had only six opponents against him." Tess said caustically.

"Ooh, score one for Kitten." Emmy said, scratching under Tess' chin. Tess snorted impatiently and batted hir hand away.

"Away with you, pain in the tail, I'm working." Tess said, though she smiled, whiskers twitching with amusement. She brushed past Emmy, flicking her tail against the half-giant's nose as she went past, grabbing the mug of tea that Emmy held out and wandering over to stand in front of the AllFather, eying him speculatively. "What do you need from me?"

"You could show some respect." Thor's father said.

"I show respect when I've been shown that it is deserved, not a moment sooner, I don't care if you are a king or a god, or both." Tess said. "Considering you've already woken me up after a particularly trying night you are not quite there yet." Thor thought his father looked mildly impressed.

"There is a particular spell that will bind one person to another, one that means that the person being bound must have physical contact with the person they are bound to, otherwise they will be subjected to increasing amounts of pain, disorientation and fever." Odin explained. "Loki's powers are bound currently, but in order to ensure that they stay bound and the binding stays true he must be bound to a mage."

"You have got to be kidding me." Tess said bluntly. "This is a terrible idea." She looked at Coulson and Fury. "You both know this is a terrible idea. You want me to be the, the jailor of the man that almost killed my father?"

"Ah vengeance in your soul, such a heady drug, isn't it?" Loki hissed.

"You're already skating on thin ice, the only reason you are still standing and not bleeding out on the floor is because my father is still alive." Tess snarled. "My name is Tess Coulson, you do the math."

"Your relationship is the exact reason why this idea is perfect." Odin stated.

"So, you want me to be his torturer." Tess hissed. Coulson put a hand on her shoulder and drew her aside, murmuring in her ear. Thor watched her face slide into ambiguity, a talent she shared with her father. It was impossible to tell what was being said, but Thor imagined that Coulson was telling his daughter what other punishments that the council had come up with.

"Alright." Tess said, voice devoid of any emotion. "I want to go on the record as saying that I do this under protest." Fury nodded his head in understanding. "What do I have to do?"

"Come forward and extend your hand." Thor's father said. Tess did so, displaying her hand palm up, revealing the rough pads on the palm and insides of her fingers. Loki was prodded and he placed his hand in hers, smirking at her. She closed her fingers around his hand, her expression neutral, but judging by the momentary grimace on Loki's face she'd pricked him with her claws.

The AllFather began to speak and Tess' ears pricked with interest and her eyes began to glow. She was 'Seeing' the magic being worked, an ability that she had cultivated over the course of several years. Whatever was happening between her and Loki had her fascinated enough to momentarily forget that she was holding Loki's hand.

When the spell was done Tess dropped Loki's hand like it was a poisonous snake, scowling fiercely. "How often will he need physical contact?" She asked Odin.

"It will be a day before the physical effects start to assert themselves, two before they become excruciating." Thor's father answered. Tess nodded curtly and stalked off. Emmy caught her as she went past, plunking down on the ground with Tess protesting in her lap. As soon as Emmy began to scratch behind her ears Tess went completely limp, a noise of satisfaction escaping her.

"Who's a good kitty?" Emmy cooed, making Tess growl half-heartedly at hir.

"How cute, the monster and the beast." Loki sneered. Emmy began to hum Beauty and the Beast, looking quite unconcerned by Loki's sniping. Tess was too preoccupied to turn him into anything, which he guessed was Emmy's aim.

"What, you never seen a pair of lovers having a cuddle before?" Emmy asked, raising her eyebrows at the Asgardians. "Know we're an unusual pair, but other than the obvious we're the same as everyone else."

"How did your daughter come to be that way?" Frigga asked Coulson.

"I am a prime example of why you don't allow an eleven year old to play around with spell books in a foreign language." Tess answered languidly. "One small mispronunciation and instead of getting cat-like reflexes and senses I found myself a walking, talking jungle cat."

"You've been unable to change back?" Frigga asked with interest. Tess stretched her leg and yawned again.

"I've known the counter for years, but it takes up a good chunk of power to do, and by the time I'd found it I'd gotten used to the way my body moves." She explained. "In any case, the enhanced senses and built-in weapons are an advantage and I always wanted to take after my daddy."

"Surely you don't go out looking like that, though?"

"No, I look like this when I need to." Tess muttered under her breath and the air around her rippled for a moment and then settled. A young human woman with Tess' dreads and yellow eyes raised an eyebrow at Frigga, a smile on her thin lips. Her skin was the colour of coffee with a little bit of milk in it, darker freckles dotting her wide nose and round cheeks. "This is what I would have looked like had I grown up normally, except with hazel instead of yellow eyes, it's the one thing the illusion cannot change."

"If it an illusion then can someone not tell when they touch you?" Frigga asked. Odin was trying to signal that it was time to leave, but she was too fascinated.

"No, it's a complete illusion, meaning someone who touches me will feel skin and not fur." Tess explained. "Took me four years to perfect."

"Four years?" Loki repeated contemptuously.

"Modifying an existing spell is not an easy task and this one was particularly tricky. Tricking someone into believing they are touching skin instead of fur is not easy, and if the words are not exactly right the spell won't have the effect I wanted it to have." Tess said shortly. "The fact that I am modifying spells at such a young age is a grand accomplishment in itself."

"Wife, we must be going." Thor's father insisted. His mother looked disappointed. Tess made a complicated pattern in the air with her hand and the air rippled once more, revealing her feline feature again.

"Perhaps another time?" Tess suggested. "I confess I am curious about how Asgardian magic works." Frigga nodded her head and turned to Loki, whose shackles had been removed while they had been talking. She kissed his forehead, which he allowed, and then she allowed her husband to take her hand and lead her away. The Warriors Three and Sif followed, with Sif casting one last suspicious look at Emmy. Loki watched them go, turning away as the Bifrost took them.

"Well, that went well." Emmy said cheerily.

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Star: Review plz!


	3. Chapter 3

Star: I own nothing!

Breakfast was being made by Barton, who complained long and hard about there being no bacon left, but no one was really listening. Phil Coulson had other things on his mind, namely his daughter, who had disappeared to get properly dressed only moments ago. He went upstairs, strolling leisurely through the halls until he came upon a particular door, which currently sported a very lifelike drawing of Tess sleeping, curled up on herself.

He pushed open the door and found Tess nearly dressed, just finishing up putting on her tie. He smiled at her and she returned the smile in the mirror. In his mind he recalled the ten-year old girl who stole his ties to wear to school because she wanted to be just like her daddy when she grew up.

"Can you handle this?" He asked, not bothering to beat around the bush. Tess tugged her light grey tie in place and tucked it under her pastel blue waistcoat. Fastidiously she rolled the sleeves of her white button-down shirt up and smoothed down her black slacks, which went only down to the joint in her legs that turned backwards.

"I am a SHIELD agent, I can handle whatever's being thrown at me." She murmured.

"He'll be living here, in this tower." Phil replied. "Thor seems to think there's something redeemable in Loki."

"What do you think?" His daughter asked, removing the string from her hair and retying it around her wrist.

"I was thinking of Agent Romanoff, and Agent Barton." Phil replied. Tess nodded her head in understanding. "What do you get from him?"

"Arrogance, anger, and fear, though he hides that well enough to fool all else." She tapped her nose pad conspiratorially. "He smells like a threat to me. I'm going to be on high alert all the time."

"You won't be the only one." Phil told his daughter, resting a hand on her shoulder. At five and a half feet tall she could rest her head against his shoulder easily. It was always interesting to watch her and Emmy together, because Emmy made her look so short. Then again Emmy made most people look short.

"You know how I get about people I care about getting hurt." Tess murmured. "I don't know if I'll be able to control myself, and I assume that having him just disappear would be… inconvenient."

"Asgard doesn't want him dead yet, too quick a punishment." Phil shrugged. "And we want to stay allies with Asgard, for the time being at least. Won't stop him from trying to get under your fur as much as possible."

"One day for symptoms, two before it gets really bad, think Em and I can still do some undercover work?"

"I'll have to talk it over with Fury, but I see no reason why not. The Avengers are your top priority right now though." Phil told her. Tess bobbed her head in agreement, nose quivering.

"Barton's making pancakes." She observed.

"And still complaining about the bacon." Phil added. She grinned, all gleaming white fangs. "Suppose I'd better get down there before Thor eats everything in sight." Phil chuckled and agreed, the two of them walking arm in arm back downstairs.

Emmy was in the process of wrestling a pancake away from Clint, swearing at him in Gaelic while he swore back in badly spoken Russian. Tasha was smirking at Clint, daintily spearing her eggs. Bruce and Tony were poring over something on Tony's tablet while Steve listened to their techno-babble, a faint frown on his face. Thor was attempting to coax Loki into sitting down and eating, but Loki seemed content with standing in the corner, watching them all with a contemptuous sneer on his face.

Tess snorted and stalked up to Loki, who looked down at her, amused. "I need to lay down a few ground rules, not for my benefit, but for yours, because I highly doubt you'd enjoy being clawed or bitten." She said calmly.

"Bitten?" Loki repeated with a sardonic laugh. Tess didn't so much as twitch, but Phil could practically feel the rage boiling beneath his daughter's skin.

"Instinctive responses can be a bit of a hassle sometimes." She said drily. "I understand you need to touch me in order not to feel pain, but under no circumstances do you touch anywhere near my ears or my tail. In addition to that please do not sneak up on me and touch me, I am trained to be on high alert at all times and I will hurt you."

"Paranoid." Loki said.

"A healthy dose of paranoia is imperative for survival in SHIELD." Tess replied curtly. "Heed my words, I will not warn you a second time." Loki scoffed, but Tess just deliberately turned her back and snagged the pancake that Emmy and Clint were fighting over. Emmy settled into the chair next to Tess and Tess rubbed her cheek against Emmy's bare, scarred arm. Emmy often said shi could not remember how hir markings were supposed to look anymore because of all the scars through them.

Emmy took out a sketchpad with one hand, flipping it open, and dug the fingers of hir other hand into Tess' scalp, prompting a rumble from deep in Tess' chest. Since Tess was a leopard she couldn't purr, the rumbling sound, and a sound like a moan were the substitutes. Phil sat down on Tess' other side and accepted a plate of pancakes and eggs from Steve. Thankfully he'd gotten over his fanboy reaction to Captain America some time ago, but knowing that he worked with _the_ American Hero still gave him a thrill every time.

"Come brother, the food is good." Thor wheedled. "You are too thin."

"Spare me your sentimental drivel." Loki replied coldly. Thor looked wounded.

"Who do you think would win in a fight, Thor, me or your friend Sif?" Emmy asked absently, sketching out lines on a clean page. It was an obvious ploy to distract Thor, but it worked.

"I do not know. You are both very strong, and very wise in the art of battle." Thor admitted. "I think you are possibly sneakier than Sif, although if she fought you she would be trying to kill you."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Emmy replied cheerfully. "I'm notoriously difficult to kill though, hooray for Frost Giant genetics! I think my favourite injury was the time I took an arrow in the arse."

"Wait what?" Tony looked up, grinning. "Why haven't I heard about this?"

"Alright, alright, it wasn't that exciting, it was just funny where the arrow had wound up." Emmy rubbed hir chin thoughtfully. "It was probably about 1285 and the Mongols were trying to invade Europe at the time. This was when I was Laird Richard of Winter's Bone, though I cannot remember which country I was fighting for at that time, moved around a lot you know."

"Well, you don't age like others do, looks suspicious." Steve shrugged.

"Exactly." Emmy agreed. "In any case we were in the middle of a battle and we'd gotten the enemy to retreat and I went to sit down, on account that I was tired. One of my fellows looks at me and says Richard, don't sit down, you've got an arrow in your arse. Sure enough I turn around and there's the shaft of an arrow poking out of my posterior. Took about five minutes of cursing to get the damned thing out and I still have the scar."

There was a roar of laughter as hir story finished and shi smiled, looking quite pleased with hirself. Emmy very rarely got embarrassed by anything, a fact which annoyed Tess, who felt she got embarrassed far too easily.

"Did you bewitch your fellows into not killing you for the monster that you are?" Loki asked, cutting through the laughter. Tess opened her mouth, but Emmy tapped her on the nose and gave her an encouraging smile.

"I doubt they would have liked me very much looking like this, medieval humans were very superstitious." Shi drawled. "Thankfully I inherited one of my grandda's talents, shi was a shapeshifter you see. Though I've only ever been able to take one other shape, probably on account of my half-human status."

Shi closed her eyes for an instant and turned to Loki, opening them to reveal irises of such a deep blue they were almost black. At the same time the markings on hir skin began to melt away and the blue faded into a ruddy tan. Hir hair shortened a little and a beard sprouted upon hir face as hir chest flattened and hips narrowed.

"Ta-da!" Shi said triumphantly when she was done. A largely muscled human man smiled at Loki, pleased at hir performance. "Meet Rick, my alter ego." Hir voice was deeper as a male and hir scars stood out far more on hir ruddy skin.

"Interesting trick." Loki said unpleasantly. "Doesn't change what you are." Emmy shrugged, returning to hir normal form.

"Why would I want to?"

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Star: Review plz!


	4. Chapter 4

Star: I own nothing!

Tess hated waking up. She was a feline after all, and felines liked their sleep, especially when the sun was hitting her just right to warm her fur. It was always an interesting contrast to Emmy's naturally cool skin. Tess had gotten used to that though and she nuzzled closer, inhaling the scent of Emmy's ridiculously curly hair.

Something didn't feel quite right though and she lifted her head, a faint, unfamiliar scent coming to her. She opened her eyes and found the face of the devil staring down at her. She let out a rather undignified shriek and rolled, tumbling off the bed.

The rational part of her knew it was just Loki, but that knowledge was lost in the clamour in her mind, all amounting to DESTROY THE THREAT! She inhaled and then exhaled slowly, willing her claws to sheathe themselves again and her fur to lie flat. Emmy was saying something, but Tess' heart was pounding in her head and she couldn't hear it.

When she finally looked up, it seemed like Loki was trying to look anywhere but Emmy, but Tess couldn't see…ah. Emmy, like most beings with a penis, had morning wood. Emmy was also not shy about displaying hir body, which would explain why Loki was trying so hard not to look at hir.

"Well, you can come back when we're dressed, as I think I'm going to need my lover to take care of my little problem, unless you want to have a go at it." Emmy was telling Loki, finishing up with a flirting wink. Loki looked horrified for a moment and then stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. "I think he won't be showing up unannounced anymore." Emmy said smugly.

"You are incorrigible." Tess said, a chuffing laugh escaping her. "I think he's determined to get under my fur."

"He'll regret that eventually." Emmy replied, standing up. Hir erection had subsided already.

"I don't think he believes me when I say I'll claw him or bite him." Tess said, pulling on a shirt. Emmy pulled on a pair of black slacks, a white, form-fitting wife beater and a pair of suspenders. Emmy didn't really have a style, shi just wore whatever shi felt like wearing.

"You should just do it." Emmy suggested, fluffing hir hair in the mirror.

"I'd have to fill out paperwork, too much bother." Tess said. "Besides, he probably doesn't taste very good." Emmy had a good chuckle about that. Shi pulled Tess into an embrace and rubbed her ears. Tess rumbled softly in her throat and licked Emmy's bare shoulder.

"You are a tease." Emmy accused cheerfully.

"Yes, and I learned that from you." Tess replied. "You're a bad influence."

"Good." Emmy murmured, leaning down to kiss Tess on her nose pad. "Come, Kitten, I'm fair starved."

"You're always starved." Tess muttered, but she followed Emmy to the door anyways. Loki was standing on the other side, leaning against the wall casually. Tess fought the way the fur on her back tried to bristle and quelled the urge to bite. Loki raised an eyebrow at her and held out his hand. It occurred to Tess that Loki liked this situation as little as she did, and would not want to be in contact for long. She brushed her fingertips against his hand and he retracted it, tension she had not noticed flowing out of him.

Tess turned away, though her instincts screamed not to be presenting her back to her enemy and let Emmy practically drag her downstairs. "UNHAND THE POPTARTS!" Emmy declared when they got downstairs, bouncing over to Thor.

"NEVER!" Thor boomed in reply. The two of them started a friendly wrestling match for the box of Poptarts.

"Nevermind that there are at least twenty more boxes in the cupboard." Tess commented to Bruce, who smiled slightly at her.

"It's the competitive gene, you and I don't have it." He said, sipping at his tea. He pushed another mug towards her and she took it, inhaling the spicy-sweet scent of her favourite apples and cinnamon tea.

"Hmm, I just don't think we see the appeal of bashing each other's skulls in for fun." She replied.

"It's surprising that there's anything left in their heads." Tony commented. "Hey look, it's tall, dark and scary." Tess looked up to see that Loki had come down to join them for breakfast. "So how's the evil dictator thing working out? I see-" Tess lightly pricked Tony with her claws.

"Tony, let's not antagonize the psychopath." She murmured. "Even if he doesn't have any powers."

"Aww, why you gotta spoil my fun?" Tony complained.

"Because for some reason SHIELD wants to keep you alive." Tess said, deadpan.

"Ooh, nasty kitty." Tony said. "That's hurtful."

"You say that like I should care." Tess replied drily.

"Age before beauty, god of blondeness!" Emmy declared. "Ooh, I think I just put myself down."

"You did." Clint and Tony said in unison.

"Age before beauty?" Loki repeated.

"I'm older than him, and you." Emmy said, trying to snatch the box away. "Round about seventeen hundred years old, give or take a century. Time keeping wasn't very accurate back then and we were kind of living out in the wild until I grew up enough to get a job, so I've had to kind of guess based on what I remember being involved in or hearing about."

"I was not asking for your entire life history." Loki said stiffly.

"Ooh, testier than Tess when she's been woken up too early." Emmy teased. "You'd make a good cat." Shi commented, settling down and taking out hir sketchbook.

"That is a long fucking time." Clint commented.

"Mm-hm." Emmy hummed absently, purple tongue sticking out as she sketched on the page. Tess brushed her tail against Emmy's back, comfortingly. Emmy smiled at her reassuringly. Emmy appeared to be sketching out the Avengers in animal form in the style of Kung Fu Panda. She snorted as Thor took shape as a fluffy golden retriever.

"You've got him pegged there, loyal, friendly, affectionate, but mess with him and you're going to get bitten hard." Tess commented. "Also, he acts like a dip, but he's a lot more intelligent than people give him credit for."

"Who?" Clint asked.

"Thor." Emmy and Tony replied at the same time.

"What?" Thor asked, looking up from his breakfast.

"Exactly." Tess said, sipping at her tea. She leaned her cheek against Emmy's arm, watching her keep drawing. "The rat is Bruce, isn't it?"

"Lab rat." Emmy said. "Intelligent, fussily clean, friendly and affectionate, but shy at first, like most rodents. Often misunderstood creatures." A vague shape took form behind the rat-Bruce. "Honey badger. Aggressive, fearless and feared. That's the Other Guy." Bruce smiled, looking impressed.

"Let me guess, I am a fox." Natasha said.

"Yes, clever, sneaky, the vixen is often considered a symbol of a sexy woman, someone that men can't have." Emmy explained. "But like most canids they are also playful, companionable and hardy. They're fairly solitary, but they've been known to find other creatures to share in their lives."

"Steve appears to be a wolf." Tess said, smiling at the sketch. "Fierce, loyal, but also playful, loving. An alpha wolf is the leader of the pack and will do everything to protect their pack. They answer to no one but who they choose to. Tony is obviously a cat, a house cat. Smart, aloof sometimes and demanding of attention in other moments. Sporadic, manic energy, keeps odd hours, sounds about right. Full of himself too."

"Then there's Clint, who's obviously a bird, a hawk of some kind, obviously, with those eyes of his, never quite figured out which one though." Emmy said. "Me, I'm a Bernese Mountain Dog. Built for the cold, big and lovable, ferocious when they need to be and pack animals through and through. You, my dear, are a lioness. Proud and regal, dominant and yet protective of those you've chosen as your family."

"A mix of cat and human in my head, that would probably look like a lioness." Tess agreed. "Leopards are naturally solitary, unlike humans. I like being around other people, sometimes, anyways."

"Last but not least we have Loki, Mr. Coyote." Emmy grinned at Loki. "Was going to do a cat, but then I thought, nah, he's a coyote. The cunning trickster of myth."

"Should I be pleased?" Loki asked sarcastically.

"You looked interested, I thought you'd want to know." Emmy replied amiably.

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	5. Chapter 5

Star: I own nothing!

Coulson watched Agent Barton on the range that Stark had installed in the Tower. Clint drew back his weapon, aimed and fired, and then picked up another arrow to do the same thing over and over again. The bulls-eye of the target was peppered with arrows by this point.

"Imagining someone?" Phil asked idly, stepping up to Clint.

"Just getting some practice in." The archer replied tonelessly. "I'm fine, sir."

"Same kind of fine as my daughter?" Phil suggested. "Because she tore open a punching bag."

"She's a spitfire, that one." Clint said, shooting another arrow. "Kept expecting her and the oversized Smurf to come blazing through in New York."

"If they had shown up, that would have meant I was dead." Phil said.

"I know." Clint said. "That's the one reason I knew you weren't dead when we were fighting. Because _she wasn't there._"

"She was keeping me alive." Phil said. "Bound her life force to mine, made it so that if she didn't die, I wouldn't."

"She's done that with her partner, hasn't she?" Clint asked.

"She has, twice, when it didn't look like Agent Smith was going to make it back to the doctors in time." Phil said. "A Coulson through and through, that one."

"For my loved ones I will do anything." Clint said, reciting the old Coulson family motto. "She would have ripped him to shreds."

"I'm not sure he's taking that very seriously at the moment." Coulson commented. Clint snorted a laugh.

"Let's hope he finds out the hard way that he should." He grumbled. "It's stupid that he's allowed to wander around freely like this."

"I can set you up with someone to talk to." Phil offered.

"A SHIELD shrink?" Clint laughed. "No thanks, they've probably got as many problems as I do. Did do the shrink thing for a little bit, didn't seem to help, not like letting Tasha kick my ass did."

"So long as you have something…" Phil said. "I refuse to let you go rogue, Clint, you're one of my best agents."

"I'm one of the biggest pains in the ass that you know and you know it." Clint said with an unrepentant grin.

"Considering who my daughter is and who she is currently dating, you shouldn't be surprised that I happen to like 'pains in the asses'." Phil replied drily. Clint let out a barking laugh and clapped a hand on Phil's shoulder.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily, sir." He said.

"I'll hold you to that." Phil said, turning and exiting the range.

%&%&%&%

Frigga and Sif looked around for a moment, blinking away the brightness of the Bifrost before striding into the Tower. **"Good afternoon, ladies." **Both women started at the sound of the disembodied voice. **"My apologies. I am JARVIS, I am an AI, an artificial intelligence created by Mr. Stark."**

"Ah yes, Thor has spoken of you." Frigga said. "Where is my son?"

"**They are all down on the training level, sparring practice. I can direct you there if you will just step into the elevator." **A pair of doors opened with a dinging sound. Frigga and Sif went in and were only mildly surprised when the small room they were in started moving down. The doors opened again and the first thing they saw was Thor go flying across the mats.

Sif moved before Frigga could stop her, unsheathing her sword and running at Emmy, who had been the one to send Thor flying. Emmy turned, grinning, and there was the ring of steel on steel as shi seemed to pull a very large broadsword out of thin air to block Sif's attack.

"You know, all you had to do was ask." Shi commented in a friendly tone. Sif drew back and went on the offensive. Emmy retaliated, grinning all the while, dodging, parrying, and blocking with a delicacy that belayed hir size. "It is so rare that I get to use my full strength on my opponents." Shi said amiably.

"Why wouldn't you?" Sif demanded.

"Friendly bout, don't want to kill anyone." Emmy answered. "Humans can be so fragile sometimes."

"Hey!" Tony yelped from where the rest of the Avengers were sitting and watching. "We're not fragile!"

"Says the man who fights in a metal suit!" Emmy yelled, ducking Sif's sword. "Has anyone told you that you are absolutely lovely when you are fighting?" Shi enquired to Sif. Sif paused momentarily, the question throwing her off-guard and Emmy knocked the sword out of her hand, making it sail through the air and caught it in hir unoccupied hand. "I'm serious, you are quite beautiful." Emmy said sincerely, inspecting the sword.

"Return my blade to me." Sif said stiffly.

"A moment, please, the workmanship on this is incredible." Emmy said in a worshipful tone. "Makes mine look amateurism by comparison."

"You make swords?" Sif asked.

"I made them." Emmy corrected. "Not much use for them these days." Shi handed Sif back her weapon. "Treat it well and it will treat you well." Shi said seriously. She hefted her own broadsword, which had celtic symbols carved into the blade and a snowflake on the pummel stone. "This is my work, she's called Frostbite." Emmy chuckled at Sif's incredulous look. "I know, I know, in my defence I was half out of my mind, what with spending hours on this beauty and I thought I was being clever at the time. Too late to do anything though, once you've named the blade it's bad luck to change the name."

"See Sif, I knew you'd like Emmy." Thor said happily, coming up to the two of them. Sif gave both him and Emmy a dirty look.

"I'd really wish you'd tell me how beautiful the people in your life are, because you've got some smoking friends." Emmy said. "What do you think of Sif, Kitten?" She called to Tess. Tess looked up from whatever she was reading, eyed Sif for a moment and then nodded her head. "Tess likes you too."

"Only if she stops attempting to kill my mate." Tess called in response to that. "Emmy, please don't proposition her yet, she's still getting used to you."

"Proposition?" Sif asked, looking aghast. Emmy smiled somewhat sheepishly.

"My partner and I have something of an open relationship and will sometimes take another partner into our bed. The stipulation is that we both like them and they are willing to have us both." Emmy explained. "Our last partner was Darcy, ooh boy is she a firecracker!" Emmy's grin grew. "I hope we haven't scared you off." She added, giving Sif hir best charming grin. Sif snorted, but she didn't outright say no, so Emmy gave Tess a thumbs-up. Tess sighed audibly.

"Sometimes I don't know why I put up with hir." She said to the room at large.

"You looooovvvveeeee me!" Emmy cooed, fluttering hir lashes ridiculously.

"Pain in the tail." Tess replied affectionately. "I don't think the lady Sif came here to exchange banter with you, darling, come away."

Emmy skipped up to hir lover and planted an affectionate kiss on her nosepad, making Tess' muzzle wrinkle. Sif shook her head, looking a little baffled at the two of them and instead turned to Thor. "Why did you allow that creature to throw you?" She asked.

"We were sparring." Thor said with a careless shrug. "Shi's very strong and loves to be able to go full-strength so we wind up as sparring partners more often than not. Shi can come on a little strong, so I do apologize if shi did offend you, but shi means nothing by it. Probably one of the friendliest people you will ever meet."

"You want me to like hir?" Sif guessed, sounding unhappy about it. "Thor, shi's-"

"A very good friend, and an excellent teammate." Thor interrupted, giving her a pleading look. "Just because shi is Jotun does not make hir evil. You don't have to go to bed with hir, as shi has propositioned, but I ask that you give hir a chance. It would be awkward if you were constantly trying to harm hir, and shi already likes you so shi'll be trying hir best to make you into a friend when you are around."

"You trust hir?" Sif demanded quietly.

"I trust hir with a sword at my back, just as I trust you." Thor said. Sif nodded her head curtly.

"I make no promises." She said stiffly. "But I will not attempt to harm hir."

"Good, hir lover can be quite the hellion." Thor added. "You don't want to be on her bad side." He turned then and gave his mother a hug; she'd been waiting quite patiently after all.

"Where is Loki?" She asked.

"Reading in his room, I think." Thor replied. "We have supplied him with many books, he seems to have taken an interest in Shakespeare."

"So he seems to be settling in okay?" Frigga asked worriedly.

"He snipes at everyone that he can, especially Tess, and then she goes and destroys another punching bag, but other than that he does not seem to be in discomfort." Thor answered.

"Are you well?" Frigga asked.

"Aye, very well." Thor said with an easy grin. "We battle villains and help people, tis a good life."

"I'd wager it is." Frigga replied with a little laugh. "Now, do forgive me, but I wish to speak more to your mage."

"She has been looking forward to it." Thor replied.

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	6. Chapter 6

Star: I own nothing!

Tess looked up as the new scent washed over her; mother lioness seemed to be the gist of the scent. "My Lady." She greeted Frigga courteously.

"You are far more polite to me than you were to my husband." The queen of the gods said idly.

"You've earned my respect." Tess replied evenly, closing her spellbook. Frigga peered at it. "It is Gaelic, my second language of spellwork, the first being Arabic."

"Why two languages?" Frigga asked.

"Different cultures used their magic for different things." Tess explained. "The Gaelic spellbooks are where I found how to see magic."

"See magic?" Frigga repeated.

"It's a process that many mages call 'opening the third eye'." Tess explained. "I trained myself, took me about a year before I could call it up without any effort."

"Why do you need to see magic?"

"It helps me to be able to see what spells are trying to effect and who is casting them. In addition it means I can see the scraps of magic lying around and can pick them up." Tess said.

"Explain, please?" Frigga said. Tess smiled, she enjoyed explaining about her powers.

"All living things, at least on this Earth, have magic inside them. Often it is called the life force, meaning that draining it can end one's life." Tess explained. "Intense emotional occurrences can cause a small discharge of this life force into the surrounding environment. These scraps will simply lay around for some time, which means someone who is accomplished enough in the magical arts can pick them up for use in smaller spells to avoid draining their own power supply. These are my scraps." She added, indicating the strings on her wrists and tail.

"You give them corporeal form?" Frigga asked.

"It is in a way an illusion, and yet not." Tess said. "It's hard to explain."

"As is most magic." Frigga admitted. "If people are constantly discharging stray magic, does that not mean a city like this is saturated in it?"

"It does." Tess agreed. "And the fact of the matter is, magic is alive in a sense, as it is a part of the life force of living things, so a large amount of magic pooled for years and years develops a consciousness of its own. The city, quite literally, becomes a living entity. There are places on earth that are naturally saturated in magic, but that is old, old magic. Stonehenge is one of those places. I would have to be very careful if I went there."

"Why is that?"

"I can link myself to the power of the land, and magic as old and powerful as what is at Stonehenge could take possession of me without me having to link myself." Tess explained. "Imagine trying to pour the ocean into a small jar."

"The jar would crack." Frigga said.

"Exactly. That much power working through me can tear me apart. I am strong enough to keep myself together for a short time, but calling on the power of the land has consequences no matter how long I do it." Tess said. "It shortens my natural life span."

"And you have used this power before?"

"It's shortened my life by two years. In total my natural lifespan has been shortened by five years." Tess answered. "The other three come from keeping both my partner and my father alive long enough for doctors to help them."

"Why? If it causes so much damage, why do it?" Frigga asked. Tess gave her a sideways look.

"I think you know the answer to that." She said quietly. "Any animal when faced with danger would rather run than fight, but when that animal has something to protect, like a cub, they will stand and fight, even if it means their own deaths."

"You're not a mother…" Frigga said. "But you feel like a mother."

"That's the animal instincts." Tess said, yawning widely. "Not that I wasn't a bear about protecting people before I turned myself into a cat."

"From what I understand about your father, it seems to be a familial trait." Frigga said. Tess grinned at that.

"Thank you." She said. "We're stubborn bastards, us Coulsons."

"How did you come to be involved in magic anyways?" Frigga asked. "From what I understand it's not a common career path."

"Old family tradition." Tess explained. "Our family had wise women going back centuries, perhaps even millennia and it was tradition for a woman in the family to learn the art. My great grandmother was the last to take up the art, until I found the spellbooks in our attic. Mum wasn't all too happy about it, but I was determined to do it."

"And on one of your first tries you made a very large mistake."

Tess gave her a lopsided grin. "You should have heard the argument then. Mum wanted me to stop, told me that this proved that she was right. Dad calmly reminded her that I would need magic now to hide the way I look and to get back to the way I was before. By the time I did know how to change back I was proficient enough and old enough to argue for keeping with magic."

"Your mother didn't approve."

"My mother doesn't approve of a lot of things." Tess answered. "She hated it when I decided to go for SHIELD. She and dad had a huge row about his influence on me. They got divorced, which is they decided not to be married anymore, though dad still tried to get her back, he loved her so. She loved him too."

"Why then did she not want to be married anymore?" Frigga asked.

"She hated worrying all the time, first that he wouldn't come home, and then that I wouldn't come home either. She said she couldn't take the stress."

"Such is the way with those left behind while their loved ones battle." Frigga said.

"Dad kept trying though." Tess said. "She finally came around after he nearly died, must have realized that it didn't hurt any less not to be married to him and she loved him too much to forget. One of the two good things that came out of his near-death experience."

"And the other?" Tess gestured to the other Avengers.

"They needed a push, dad was the catalyst that got them working as a team." Tess explained. "Loki dug his own grave on that one."

"His tricks do have a tendency to backfire on him." Frigga admitted. "How are you doing with him?"

"So long as he stays out of my way when I need to I'm fine." Tess said. "I'm not going to go out of my way to be cruel to him, but I'm not going to be welcoming either."

"You will not deny him the touch he needs?" Frigga asked.

"I make no promises." Tess said bluntly. "If he pushes me too hard all bets are off. I'm a vindictive bitch and I'm not above revenge to make myself feel better. That being said, I'm not going to prevent him from touching me just for shits and giggles."

"That's the best I can hope for, in any situation." Frigga sighed.

"You really still care about him?" Tess asked curiously.

"I'm his mother."

"I can't really say I understand that." Tess admitted with a shrug. "Emmy might."

"Shi is a mother?"

"Shi was, as well as a father." Tess commented. "Shi's also adopted children over the years, though shi usually finds another couple or parent for them, can't stand to force a child to constantly be moving around with hir and watching them grow old. There's one little girl that she rescued in the second World War that shi still visits."

"Your partner is certainly an interesting character." Frigga commented. "But I think my visit is done for now, thank you for your time."

"Not a problem." Tess said as Frigga got up to leave. "Oh," She added as Frigga walked away. "You should say hello to Loki before you leave, I think he'll appreciate that."


	7. Chapter 7

Star: I own nothing!

"So I think we should order pizza tonight, and marathon Firefly." Tony said. "Everyone in agreement?" Tess only half paid attention, working on tweaking the teleportation spell she'd discovered some months ago. It was good, but it caused nausea and disorientation and she hoped she could get rid of that.

"What is this Firefly?" Thor asked.

"By the same guy who did Buffy, only had one season, which sucks because it was awesome, but we can still watch it and watch Buffy, because we haven't gotten to that yet." Tony said. "I mean we've already done Doctor Who and the X-Files, we need something new to tear our hearts out."

"Please tell me that is literal." Loki said snidely.

"Hey, he has a sense of humour!" Tony declared. "Actually it would be easier if it was literal I think."

"Aye, Doctor Who creates much pain." Thor agreed.

"You haven't even watched all the Classic Who." Emmy said. "Now that's some good material."

"Excuse me, not all of us have been here since the dawn of time." Clint quipped, making them all laugh, even Tess. Tony was about to reply, but the alarm starting blaring and everyone immediately scattered. Tess went to her room, changing into a SHIELD regulation uniform, un-sleeved and trimmed in gold, cut to allow her freedom of movement in her legs. A pair of leg bracers completed the uniform, she had weak ankles.

She ran back out, where Emmy touched the heavy gold ring on hir left hand, activating the half-armour that was sealed with Tess' magic inside. The half-armour was known as Almain rivet, consisting of only a breastplate and thigh-guards. The breastplate had the motif of a snowflake carved into it. Emmy completed the ensemble by taking the sword pendant off hir necklace, making it transform into hir beloved Frostbite.

Everyone else was assembling with their battle gear on. "What's the word, Coulson?" Captain America asked, adjusting his shield.

"Looks like another wannabe, this one seems to have some form of mutated plants that are carnivorous." Coulson replied, having converted the television into their tactical screens. "Local police is working on getting the area evacuating, you just have to neutralize the threat."

"Alright, let's get cracking." Emmy said eagerly. Shi charged out onto the balcony. Tess sighed and ran after hir, activating the spell imbedded in her suit. The gold threads of her magic curled up from her back, forming wings that were half-real and half not. She pumped them, lifting off as Emmy, or Chivalry, hir code name, jumped from the balcony, catching her as shi began to fall.

Captain America rode with Iron Man, Hawkeye and Black Widow latched onto the Hulk and Thor flew under his own power. Thankfully the disturbance wasn't far and Tess, code name Spellcaster, swooped into a dive and dropped Chivalry onto the hood of a bus. She turned off the spell and hit the ground running, using fire to slash through the first of the massive, carnivorous plants that tried to eat her.

She could hear her team through the comms and they acted as a unit, slashing, burning, destroying and helping any still trapped in the area. Her heart pounded and her blood sang through her veins. She was a huntress after all, and this was her hunt, she was in her element and she loved it.

The battle was over quickly, the wannabe surrendering when Hulk roared in his face. Chivalry had found a little boy hiding under a car and was talking to him and bouncing him on hir hip. A woman came forward, holding out her hands and Chivalry relinquished the child with a smile. Their casualties had been few this time, a couple wounded, none dead; one of their better missions.

She and her partner walked back to the Tower, it was harder to lift Emmy when she had to go up. Rather than dealing with Tess' complaints Emmy had agreed to walk. It gave them a chance to figure out their reports anyways and sticking to the back alleys meant that they wouldn't get held up; it was hard sometimes being so noticeable. Emmy loved the attention, Tess… not so much.

They got back to the Tower without incident and Emmy deactivated hir armour and sword as they rode up on the elevator. When they came out into the living space Tess immediately noticed Loki looking at the tactical screens with interest. She resisted the urge to drag him away and whack him over the head like a cub that was getting into things they shouldn't. If her dad hadn't protested it, then there was no reason she should. Still, she didn't like it.

They kept their debrief simple and to the point. Their wannabe, apparently a botanist offended by not getting the recognition he felt he deserved, was secure in the cells on the below-ground levels and his fate would be decided by Director Fury. Not a bad day, she'd certainly seen much worse.

%&%&%&%

Loki watched the Avengers celebrate their latest victory discreetly, annoyed by their noisiness. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as the Jotun put its arm around Thor's shoulders, singing loudly about wanting to drink rather than work. Thor laughed with it and Loki felt a stab of jealous rage go through him. Of course Thor would never laugh with him like that; what made that Frost Giant so special?

He turned his head slightly to find the cat, his jailer, watching him closely, a frown upon her face. Their eyes locked and Loki felt for a moment like a rabbit caught by some predator. Her stare was hungry, considering, as though she was weighing the option of killing him right there. He smirked at her and waved his fingers in a mocking wave, knowing she was too civilized to actually do anything.

The beast briefly flashed her fangs at him in a snarl and then paid attention to whatever her monster of a lover was saying to her. The Jotun put its arm around Tess' shoulders, leaning down to whisper in her ear. Whatever was said made her cuff the monster with a heavy paw, making the Frost Giant laugh loudly.

Loki had seen enough and moved silently away, heading for his room. He could feel the cat's eyes tracking him and was gratified to know that at least someone still felt he was a threat instead of simply forgetting his entire existence. She held a grudge against him, and that could prove to be an endless source of amusement to see how far he could push before she snapped.

He settled into the cozy armchair that had been installed in his room and picked up his book where he'd left off. It was Macbeth by Shakespeare. He found Shakespeare's tragedies most entertaining and the cadence of the rhyming couplets were soothing to his mind. He doubted that he'd ever be allowed, but it would be most interesting to see one of these performances live.

He knew precisely why he had as much freedom as he already did. They wanted to humiliate him further, by telling him with their actions that they didn't consider him enough of a threat to keep him locked up. Instead he was forced to live amongst his enemies, with them, and yet separate. He was always an outcast, but to be shown it so wholly burned him. They would pay when he figured his way out of here.

The cat would go first, since she held his life in the palm of her paw. He'd toy with the Jotun, show it for the monster it truly was and then destroy it. He'd save Thor for last, let him try and save his precious mortals. Perhaps he wouldn't kill Thor in the end, that would be too merciful. It was only cruelty, he told himself, not sentiment that turned his thoughts away from murdering his not-brother.

He let the rhythm of Shakespeare's words drive all thought out of his head for some time. "Och, you're as bad as Tess when she's reading." The unwelcome, low, androgynous voice made him look up and glare at the monster. It grinned at him and he begrudgingly admitted that it was a rather charming grin. The monster was leaning over him, hands clasped behind its back. "Shakespeare, huh? Saw Romeo and Juliet when it first came out, quite the performance, I must say."

"Is there any particular reason you have invaded my room?" Loki asked tersely.

"Yes, dinner's here. You'd probably want to get out there soon before it's all gone, pizza's a favourite of just about everyone." The Jotun explained.

"I have never had this pizza, so I do not care if I do not get any." Loki replied, though his stomach rumbled with hunger.

"Ach, you need to try pizza, everybody loves pizza." The creature bounced in place and actually reached out a hand for a moment before retracting it. "Oops, getting away with myself again. Sorry, you probably don't want me touching you, seeing as you don't like me very much."

"Indeed, which makes me wonder why you're talking to me now." Loki snapped.

"I'm too friendly for my own good and way too gobby." The Frost Giant explained, looking unconcerned. "Don't see a point in being unfriendly to you right now, to be honest. Tess often has to tell me to stop chatting up our prisoners, but the way I see it is the person on the other end of the sword or the gun is just another person and they could be someone you like if you weren't on different sides."

"That's rather foolish logic." Loki sneered.

"Never been much for logic." The creature replied cheerily. "Anyways, I'd come down quickly so you don't have to fight for the last slice. Cheers." It bounded out of his room. Loki wondered if the Jotun had come in as a ploy to get him to drop his guard, but decided not. The Frost Giant had a personality like Thor, bumbling, far too friendly and not a clever or sneaky bone in its body.

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Star: Review plz!


	8. Chapter 8

Star: I own nothing!

"I call to order tonight's meeting of the Insomnia Club." Emmy said, holding up hir bottle of vodka in a toast. Tony thought it wasn't fair that shi could drink so much without actually getting falling-down drunk. Of course it was the fact that he was on a 'liquor diet' which made it really unfair.

The 'diet' had occurred after a pretty spectacular binge drinking session in which apparently he had to be coaxed away from the balcony to avoid attempting to become a bird. After that he'd been ganged up on and his drinking limited to a set amount each day, and JARVIS, the traitor, had agreed to keep an eye on him. Oh well, he was tired of waking up and having no idea where his clothes were anyways.

Emmy took a swig of hir alcohol, grimaced and looked at Clint. "You know, I been thinking of what your description of being mind-fucked is like, and I think I got it."

"Must you bring that up?" Clint demanded from where he was lying with his head in Natasha's lap. They were pretty well an item, though neither of them would admit it. Tony had the video proof, but was far too scared of the Black Widow to try and use it as blackmail.

"Sorry, it's just I found a really good comparison." Emmy replied. "It's like the Imperious Curse, you see?"

"What?" Tony asked.

"No, I get it." Natasha said, raking her fingers through Clint's hair. "You felt like doing whatever Loki said was the best thing ever, but there was still a small part of you that understood what was happening." Clint nodded tersely.

"And the thing with the Imperious Curse was that anyone could fall to it." Emmy pointed out.

"Except Harry Potter." Clint muttered.

"Harry Bloody Potter had a fecking horcrux in his head and was the fecking Chosen One of the wizarding world." Emmy said. "When you are Harry Bloody Potter than you can complain about not being able to throw off the Imperious."

"What was the point of this conversation again?" Clint asked, laughing.

"I don't fecking remember." Emmy replied. Shi took another swig of hir vodka. "God, I'd rather be in bed."

"So why aren't you, tonight?" Tony asked. They were all up for a reason. Sometimes they talked about it, sometimes they tried to destroy each other at video games, and sometimes they just watched infomercials and laughed.

"Ach, war dreams." Emmy replied.

"Which one?" Clint asked.

"Does it matter?" Emmy said bleakly. "All the same, even if the weapons get more dangerous." Shi sighed. "I just feel so old sometimes."

"You are old." Clint pointed out. "You're fucking ancient by our standards."

"Yes, but by my standards I'm like late twenties or early thirties." Emmy said. "But enough about my depressing life, I think I found something interesting about Loki today."

Clint made a rude noise and Natasha swatted him lightly. "I thought you were taking a little long getting him." She commented.

"Yeah well, I talked to him for a couple minutes." Emmy said with a shrug. "You know what, he absolutely hates me. The entire time I was in there it was like he was trying to murder me with his eyes."

"What's so interesting about that?" Tony asked.

"He doesn't hate me for any other reason except for what I am." Emmy explained. "He hates me because I'm a Frost Giant."

"Which implies that he hates himself, seeing as he's a Frost Giant too." Natasha said.

"Join the club." Tony and Clint said at the same time, then side-eyed each other.

"This team is fucked up." Emmy declared. "Everybody in this tower has issues."

"Hence, the Insomnia Club." Tony pointed out. "Seriously, I'm not sure how anyone gets any sleep around here. There's Clint with the mind-control thing, Natasha and god knows what from her past, Steve and the war, Bruce and the Other Guy, Thor and his brother, you and your long fucking life, Tess and past missions and then there's Loki… who the fuck knows if that guy sleeps?"

"I see you've conveniently left yourself out of that." Clint said.

"You got a week to listen, because I am a great big ball of fucked up, ever since I was a kid." Tony replied. "Let's not into the daddy issues and the binge drinking and get straight into the fucking kidnapping and near death experience which left me with metal trying to slice its way into my heart. Add to that taking a fucking nuke into another dimension or whatever and finding out what it's like not to be able to breathe in space, which was fucking fantastic."

"Tony, deep breaths." Emmy said, patting Tony on the back.

"Thanks." Tony said, rubbing at his eyes. "JARVIS, when's the last time I slept?"

"**A mere twenty-six hours ago, sir." **The AI replied drily. **"Considering your current record that is not 'half bad' as you would say." **

"Ach, I've been up longer." Emmy said. "I think there was this one time I was up for a week and by the end of it I was hallucinating unicorns and for some reason they all had Cockney accents."

Clint snorted and Tony guffawed. "I once tripped out on some bad sedatives and I thought that the walls were actually marshmallow peeps, you know those things?"

"Let me guess, you tried to eat them?" Tony enquired, laughing.

"Natasha knocked me out, after laughing at me for about ten minutes." Clint answered. "What about you, any bad trips?"

"Uuuh, didn't get so much into recreational drugs, it was more booze that was my poison of choice." Tony replied. "I don't remember what happened, but I woke up in pink spangly leotards, a lime green cocktail dress, in a water fountain shaped like some giant-ass pirate ship. Apparently I'd dubbed myself the Tranny Pirate and was trying to steal the ship."

They all had a good laugh about that. "This conversation went on a very strange tangent." Emmy commented.

"You're the one who started with the Imperious Curse you geek." Clint teased.

"Ha! I for one know that you cried reading the last Harry Potter book." Emmy grinned.

"I did not!" Clint protested.

"Did too!" Emmy said. "I know I fecking cried, and threw the fecking book across the room."

"Didn't you do that with a book last week?" Tony asked.

"Aye, that was Mockingjay." Emmy said. "That book was depressing as hell."

"See, you're basically a jock, but then you're also a geek, which is like the opposite thing." Clint said.

"Only if you're talking about stupid high school teen drama shows." Natasha said. "Which I've told you to stop watching."

"They're just so hilariously bad I can't help myself." Clint chuckled. They all looked up as someone shuffled down the stairs, muttering softly. It was Tess and Emmy shushed them all, indicating that the jungle cat was still asleep, just having a little wander around.

Tess wound up walking up to the fridge and leaping up on top of it. She settled back down, curling up in a pair of panties and nothing else. They'd learned fairly early on that neither Tess or Emmy had any problem with nudity and would walk around naked if they felt like it.

Tony and Clint stifled giggles in their hands, occasionally letting out snorts. It was a bad idea to wake up the Jungle Cat, she got very testy if her beauty sleep was interrupted. "I think it's time to go to bed." Tony finally whispered. "Because somehow that is the funniest thing I've ever seen."

"Can we take a fucking picture at least?" Clint whispered.

"Not unless you want to spend a week as a rabbit or something." Emmy whispered back. The four of them headed upstairs, still trying to stifle giggles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~

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	9. Chapter 9

Star: I own nothing!

Loki was awake early, like usual and he crept down the stairs, not wishing to encounter anyone at this time of the morning. He halted when he got to the kitchen, tilting his head and then smirking. His jailer, the cat, was sleeping curled up on top of the fridge. How could he pass up that opportunity?

He tiptoed right up to her and poked her in the nose. She snuffled and rubbed one paw-hand across her nose and then settled back down again. Grinning wickedly Loki poked her again, this time she snorted and shifted, teeth showing briefly. Loki decided to take it a step further and grabbed a whisker between forefinger and thumb, tugging gently.

Yellow eyes snapped open and she lunged forward, teeth snapping together inches from Loki's face. "Well, good morning to you too." A deep growl in the pit of her throat and a hungry look in yellow eyes was his only answer.

"I'd back away if I were you, she's quite testy when she's hungry and she definitely looks hungry." Stark commented from behind him.

"She would not eat a sentient being." Loki scoffed. Stark shrugged his shoulders.

"She hasn't yet." He said. "She certainly has no problem killing them though."

"And the only reason you are still alive is because the Director wants you alive." The beast snarled at him. She sat up and Loki realized that she was nude from the waist up. Her fur covered her nipples, but she still obviously had breasts. "_What?_" She snarled, sounding annoyed.

"You are nearly nude." Loki pointed out.

"So?" The cat said, sounding even more irritated. "People and their nudity taboos, I swear." She muttered, pulling her hair back from her face. The tip of her tail twitched and curled in the air and he noticed the hole in the back of her undergarments that the tail poked through. "It's ridiculous."

"Kitty, I couldn't agree more." The frost giant stated, sauntering down the stairs. "But it seems to make the locals nervous."

"You'd think they'd get used to it, neither of us is at all shy about our bodies." Tess stated, flicking her tail under the Jotun's chin flirtatiously. "They haven't even seen how you react during the first snow fall."

"I do not want to know." Stark said. "Can you put on some clothes, please? I don't need kitty hair in my breakfast."

"I only shed when I am stressed." The beast said, tossing her hair and sliding off the top of the fridge. "But, if you are going to whine…" She walked off, away up the stairs, but not before giving her Frost Giant lover a quick lick.

"She's coming into her heat, isn't she?" Doctor Banner asked.

"Hmm, yes." The monster replied, bumping Loki out of the way of the fridge with its hip. "You'll want to avoid testing her at that time." It informed Loki.

"Why?" Loki scoffed.

"She's more aggressive when she's in heat." The Frost Giant replied. "Short-tempered except just after she's been sated, and I don't think I have to explain what that means. She's also quite a bit more protective at that time, so avoid doing anything that might seem threatening to her around people she likes, which is pretty much anyone in this tower. In fact, avoid Phil at all costs while she's in heat, I don't think you want your face clawed off."

"She is far too civilized for that." Loki sneered.

"She's got a good grip on her control, I'll give her that." Dr. Banner admitted, cleaning his glasses. Loki stepped a little farther away from him, not trusting his control over his beast. "I've seen her lose that control though, and let me tell you, she's very animal when she wants to be."

"I suppose you would understand that." Loki said. Dr. Banner stiffened slightly.

"Leave him alone, he's dealt with enough yahoos who think he's a monster." Stark said gruffly.

"Such concern." Loki cooed. "Is it for a friend, or a particularly interesting science experiment?"

"You're going to have to do better than that, I've had paparazzi, reporters, even my own staff try to take chunks out of me for years." Stark said blithely, smirk firmly plastered across his face. "And really, do you want to antagonize the man whose alter ego slammed you into the floor so hard you couldn't get up again? I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"Watch your tongue, mortal." Loki snarled.

"Ooh, I think someone's forgetting they're as good as mortal right now." Stark taunted.

"For now." Loki replied with a predatory smile. "There's not been a prison constructed yet that can hold me for too long, and when the day comes that I break free, you'd better watch your backs." On that note he swept out of the room.

%&%&%&%

"Hey." Clint looked up at the sound of Tess' voice. A mug clinked down on the railing that he had his chin and forearms resting on. His legs dangled over the side of the building and after a moment a pair of furry black paws joined them.

"Heard you destroyed another punching bag today, ripped it open like you were tearing out someone's jugular." He commented.

"Heard you got kicked out of the shooting range." Tess replied. "You doing okay?"

"If by okay you mean not sleeping and contemplating going AWOL just to shoot this asshole, then yes, I am doing fine." Clint replied sarcastically.

"I guess then we're both doing fine." Tess replied.

"Don't know how you stand having to let him touch you, even if it is only briefly." Clint admitted. "If it were me…" He didn't say that he thought he'd try to scrub his skin right off. Tess understood.

"I always have the urge to lick the spot that he's touched, to clean myself, you understand?" Tess explained. "I don't do it, because it would only give him ammunition to taunt me with."

"He's got enough of that." Clint mumbled.

"It's nothing I haven't heard before." Tess sighed.

"You should hear what they say about me." Clint tried to joke. Tess gave him a lopsided, sympathetic smile.

"Before or after the Loki incident?" She asked. Clint sighed, shoulders slumping. "I don't think people realize just how good my ears really are sometimes. Gave a few people a good tongue lashing in defence of you."

"You didn't have to do that." Clint said.

"You were one of the only ones who when I first started who didn't think I got in because I was just Coulson's kid." Tess replied. "I will beat anyone who says a bad thing about you."

"Heh, what they were saying was stupid, like Fury would ever let anyone in who he didn't think could cut it." Clint spat over the railing.

"Beautiful." Tess deadpanned. "Wonder what would happen if that hit someone."

"Lethal spit?" Clint asked.

"Doubt it, in any case, what they say about you is just as stupid as me getting in because my dad's one of Fury's best." Tess said.

"I guess." Clint said noncommittally.

"Listen, Emmy brought this up and I think the idea might have some merit." Tess started. "Emmy wants to try a cuddle pile."

"A what?" Clint asked, a grin working its way across his face.

"Whatever you're thinking it's probably about right. Basically shi thinks we should all camp out in the living room on mattresses and pillows together and fall asleep like that."

"So basically a sleepover." Clint decided.

"Exactly." Tess replied. "Emmy's thought is that having all those people who you trust and care about and who trust and care about you in return could help with sleep issues."

"This is for me?" Clint asked.

"It's for all of us." Tess replied. "I don't think anyone's been sleeping well."

"What, shi wants us to sleep all together every night?"

"No, shi figures one night will bring the stress level down enough to let us sleep for a while, but then when the stress gets bad enough again, we have the cuddle pile again. I think she's done it before, but I can't get a straight answer out of hir." Tess sighed, rubbing at her temple.

"Can you ever?" Clint joked.

"Ah well, shi's a pain in my tail, but shi's my pain in the tail." Tess replied with a chuckle and a smile.

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Star: Review plz!


	10. Chapter 10

Star: I own nothing!

"I think this is stupid." Tony groused, letting the mattress he was holding flop onto the floor.

"Ach, come on, it'll be fun." Emmy said, tousling his hair as shi walked by. "Don't be a wet blanket, Tony."

"I think it will be great fun!" Thor declared. "I have heard many stories of these 'sleepovers' from Darcy, will we do each other's hair?"

"If that's what you want, big man." Natasha said, smirking slightly. "I'll even do your nails."

"Ooh, do mine too!" Clint said, only half joking. Natasha threw him an amused and exasperated look.

"Eh, what the hell?" Tony shrugged. "May as well make me all pretty too. Be funny to see the reporters' reactions. Tony Stark, closet crossdresser."

"I don't see how that's any of their business." Steve said, frowning. "Even if it were true."

"Yeah well, some people will do anything to get a little dirt on celebrities, and not everyone's as open-minded as we are." Bruce said evenly, dropping a bunch of pillows on the floor.

"Yeah, but not everyone's got a hermaphrodite on their team." Clint pointed out. "I think we're just desensitized to anything other people might find 'unnatural'."

"What's so unnatural about it all anyways?" Steve grumbled. "If a person loves another person what's wrong with that?"

Natasha said something guttural in Russian. Emmy laughed and replied in kind and the two of them chuckled with each other for a moment. "Care to let the rest of us in on the joke?" Tony asked.

"It wouldn't translate." Emmy said, waving a hand in the air. "Play on words. In any case Steve, and I know this better than most, people are always being stupid about something."

"How have you managed to survive the stupidity of the human race for 1700 years?" Clint asked.

"Well, alcohol helps." Emmy joked, flopping hirself down on the 'cuddle pad' made up of mattresses, blankets and pillows. "And thankfully not everyone is stupid."

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky animals and you know it." Tony quoted.

"I still say that Coulson is the inspiration for K." Clint said. "What do you think, Tess?"

"That is classified information." She replied with a toothy grin. "So, what's the game plan, Emmy dear?"

"I was thinking Disney movies." Emmy replied. "Relaxing, fun, and something to laugh about, you know. This is supposed to keep our stress levels down."

"Can we watch Sleeping Beauty?" Tony asked, elbowing Steve, who merely rolled his eyes, used to Tony's teasing.

"No, let's watch WALL-E!" Thor boomed. "The antics of that little robot are delightful!"

"Can't really argue with that." Bruce said. "And it's a great look at the nature of humanity and where we might be heading in the future."

"All in favour of WALL-E, say aye!" Emmy called. There was a unanimous call of 'ayes' and everyone settled down on the makeshift cuddle-pad to watch the movie. At first there were definite groupings of people watching the movie together. Emmy and Tess were joined by Thor, and the two technically alien beings started whispering and giggling with each other almost immediately. Clint and Natasha sat together, Tasha casually leaning against Clint. Bruce and Tony were together, and after a little bit Steve joined their little group, shushing Tony when he got too loud.

As the movie progressed something interesting happened. All of the little groups that had formed at the start of the movie started gravitating towards each other. Perhaps it started with Steve leaning in to comment about something to Emmy, or Clint playfully kicking Tony to get him to shut up, but the groups eventually melded together until everyone was sitting, lying or leaning all over each other, with no consideration for personal space.

The atmosphere became even more relaxed and giggles and muffled snorts of laughter could be heard. There was a brief pillow fight. It seemed that the cuddle pile was doing its job, making everyone feel comfortable, and even inviting them to be a little childish. The sharing atmosphere did not end when they started dropped off, limbs carelessly draped over one another and heads pillowed by stomachs and legs.

%&%&%&%

Emmy was the first awake. Shi preferred the quiet of the early mornings to get work on hir art done. Pretty much everyone was either an early riser or had odd sleep schedules, so one never knew who was going to already be up. Except for Tess; Tess hated waking up.

Emmy sat up and looked around, finding that Tess had curled up in the night and now was holding Clint like a teddy bear. Emmy had Steve's head on hir stomach and Thor's legs under hirs. Shi looked up and found Loki leaning over hir, a look of vague disinterest on his face, masking the loathing he so obviously felt. Emmy nearly smiled, the boy needed to learn to control the emotions in his eyes, they still screamed that they wanted to kill hir.

"Good morning." Shi whispered cheerfully. He snorted and crouched, hand moving towards Tess. "I really wouldn't right now. She may be sleeping but her senses are working just fine. She'll be on her heat in a day or two and she's already feeling territorial, so I would avoid doing anything that might surprise her."

Emmy carefully moved Steve's head off of hir and slipped hir legs from under Thor and stood up, wobbling slightly. Shi went over to the kitchen and got a pot of coffee brewing. The stuff was one of humanity's greatest discoveries in hir opinion.

"Why is your beast holding Barton, if you are her mate and she is going into heat?" Loki asked idly, perhaps trying to get a rise out of hir, but shi wasn't having any of that.

"Perhaps subconsciously she felt he needed comfort." Shi said with a shrug. "Her territorial instincts do cover more than just me, you know." Emmy took out the folder of half-finished inked drawings shi'd stashed in the kitchen and found the page shi'd been working on. It was a comic of sorts, chronicling parts of hir life that shi wanted, or needed to remember.

Shi found hir inking pen and got to work. After shi was done inking shi would colour the pages and add the story to the growing collection of comic series detailing hir long life. Hir work seemed to interest Loki, who had gone quiet and was watching hir hands move intently. Shi liked curiosity, and shi liked seeing it in this man. Shi wanted to be able to see something redeemable in him.

"This was about two hundred years ago." Emmy said, inking the lines of an adult orca. "Made a trip up into the far north, I'd been in Egypt for some time and wanted some time in the cold. Decided to go swimming in the Arctic Ocean, why not, the cold doesn't bother me, right?" Shi ran hir fingers over the image of hir swimming, a trail of bubbles following hir. "I like being underwater, it's quiet and feels like a hug being wrapped around you."

"How poetic." Loki sneered.

"I have my moments." Emmy said cheerily. "Anyways, I'd swum around for a little bit and hauled myself up on a little berg to have a rest, and that's when I spotted them. A pod of orcas cruising along nearby. I had never seen orcas with my own eyes so I moved as close as I could to watch them. As I was watching the berg moved beneath me and I looked down to see one of the orcas had swum up and I found myself looking into one great big eye." Shi paused, remembering.

"And?" Loki prompted, sounding impatient.

"I swear I looked into that whale's eyes and he knew me, there was intelligence there, wisdom and I swear there was laughter. It was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had." Emmy said reverently.

"A Frost Giant, spiritual." Loki sneered. Emmy chuckled and pulled something out of hir pocket, holding it up. It was a wooden crucifix and rosary beads, many of the beads having initials carved into them.

"Do you know what this is?" Shi asked. Loki nodded warily. "It belonged to my husband, he was a monk."

"I thought monks weren't allowed to marry." Loki said sceptically.

"He was of a… particular sect, and that's all I can really say except for that they preached love above all else and so members were allowed to marry." Emmy sighed. "His name was Matteo, and he was beautiful in every way. He taught me of his faith and through him I found my belief in God. It may seem strange to you that a Frost Giant might believe in a human's god, but my faith has helped me through many darknesses."

"Your faith believes in life after death, does it not? So why don't you join your beloved humans in the afterlife?" Loki asked. Emmy looked at him, staring softly for a long moment.

"What makes you think I haven't already thought of that?" Shi asked quietly. Loki blinked, looking momentarily startled, but the others started waking up, and he walked away, not wanting to be seen chatting with hir. Emmy smiled to hirself victoriously.


	11. Chapter 11

Star: I own nothing!

Lady Sif blinked away the bright spots in front of her eyes and strode with the AllMother into the Avengers' Tower. It was only reasonable that she would accompany the Lady Frigga on her excursions. Although Thor extolled the prowess of his new human friends, she still felt the AllMother needed an Aesir around to make sure nothing happened to her. It certainly had nothing to do with the Jotun, Emmy.

"Well, there's a pretty lady." Said Frost Giant stated, pulling on hir suspenders and giving Sif a wide grin.

"I am a warrior." Sif replied stiffly.

"You cannot be both?" Emmy questioned, tilting hir head at the warrior woman.

"It is not that simple." Sif said, seeing the AllMother go over to speak with Tess, the Avengers' magic user. "Either you are a warrior, or you are a woman."

"That doesn't sound like any fun. Can you not dress up and make yourself look pretty then?" Emmy asked.

"I can, but I must remind my fellow warriors that I am still a warrior." Sif responded.

"Eh, it was pretty much the same around here. You didn't dress a certain way you weren't a 'real' man or woman, but times are changing, gender roles are starting to be seen as the farce they are." Emmy said. "Suppose the Jotuns don't have anything like that, but I wouldn't know."

"Why did your family come to be on Midgard anyways?" Sif asked, frowning.

"Ach, my grandda didn't like the way things were being run, was very vocal about it and got hir and my ma banished for insulting the royal arsehole." Emmy replied. "Far from being a punishment they actually liked Midgard."

"Where are they now?" Sif asked, wanting to know if there were any more Frost Giants she had to worry about.

"My grandda died of old age when I was about 900 years old, and my ma… shi… passed away about 400 years ago." Emmy said, suddenly stiff and eyes far away.

"Something happened." Sif guessed.

"I would rather not talk about it." Emmy said, rolling a pencil between hir fingers. Sif saw a deep sorrow in hir eyes and looked away. She hadn't expected to find that depth of emotion in the Frost Giant and it made her uncomfortable. "Who is that?" She asked gruffly, pointing at a drawing of a chubby, curly-haired man.

"That is my husband, Matteo, isn't he beautiful?" Emmy said, smiling again.

"Beautiful?" Sif repeated sceptically.

"Aye, beautiful." Emmy said stubbornly.

"You actually married a mortal?" Sif asked in surprise.

"What else was I going to marry, a fish?" The Frost Giant queried humorously.

"You could just not bother." Sif pointed out.

"I tried that, unfortunately, as my Matteo used to say, I have a lot of love in my soul." Emmy said. "He always told me that such love should be shared, not hidden away."

"You are strange." Sif commented, shaking her head. The Jotun gave her a charming grin.

"I've heard that many times."

%&%&%&%

"I am surprised that Sif is still speaking to your partner." Frigga commented, watching Tess thumb through her spellbook.

"I'm not." Tess answered. "Emmy's very good at being charming and it disarms people, makes them a little more chatty. We often put hir on interrogation duty because shi can charm the information we want out of people."

"Shi sounds like an interesting being." Frigga commented, settling down on the couch.

"Shi's a pain in my tail." Tess said, sounding fond. "Sometimes I wonder about my own sanity, choosing hir as my mate."

"Love very rarely is rational." Frigga said. "May I ask what you are doing?"

"I need to renew the spell imbedded in my back that allows me the power of flight." Tess replied. "I do know it, I just prefer to double-check things. When what you do can change the way things are, you tend to become a little paranoid about the spells you use."

"Probably a good policy." Frigga agreed. She looked at the page with interest, seeing something that looked like a Celtic knot laid out on the page, the symbols inside it intricate and powerful. "I assume you do not speak this spell."

"No, a lot of Gaelic spells use knotwork as a non-verbal method of a spell." Tess said, removing several differently coloured strings from her wrists.

"You use these 'scraps' for your spell?" Frigga asked.

"It's not an incredibly difficult or magic-consuming spell, so I try to use the scraps for it, so that I do not drain myself by doing small things." Tess explained, laying the strings out in the pattern shown in her spellbook. Frigga saw her stiffen minutely and looked up to see that Loki had crept into the room and was watching them. She watched a muscle jump in Tess' muzzle and wondered just how much self-control she had to exert every time Loki was close to her.

"Do the colours mean anything?" Frigga asked, in order to distract Tess. She had an idea of the answer, but it was interesting to hear Tess explain things.

"They are, you could say, the colour of the person's soul." Tess responded. "When I look with my third eye I can see a sort of… aura around people, some fainter than others. They're always different colours and it's said that has to do with personality. I have been researching to see what the colours may correspond to when it comes to personality, but I have come up with my own conclusions as well."

"What does my magic look like?" Frigga asked curiously.

"I am not certain." Tess smiled ruefully, white fangs flashing. "It blinds me when I See."

"It blinds you?"

"How powerful a person is can be seen by how bright their auras are." Tess explained. "Stands to reason the gods would have the brightest auras." She shrugged.

"And yours?"

"Yellow, gold, Emmy likes to say." Tess said. "For me the colour invokes a certain amount of fire, determination, but tempered, not completely wild, but that may just be me imposing what I think about my own personality on it."

"It invokes the sun in my opinion, that which gives life, but is also dangerous to get too close to, as your Ancient Greeks stated with the legend of Icarus." Frigga said thoughtfully. "I always thought of yellow as an in-between sort of colour, not completely warm and not completely cold."

"I am a very in-between sort of person." Tess agreed. She placed her hand over the finished knotwork and Frigga felt the small 'push' of magic that she put into it. Immediately the strings seemed to dissolve into what looked like coloured, glowing dust which still kept its shape. Tess flicked her hand and the symbol moved on its own, settling onto Tess' back and vanishing without a trace.

"Would I be able to see the symbol if you did not have fur?" Frigga wondered.

"You would." Tess said with a chuckle. "It would look like a tattoo. Sometimes I see people on the street with tattoos and I can see that they're actually magic. Funny the things you start to see when you really open your eyes."

There was a thud behind them and both Tess and Frigga looked around to see Sif glaring at Emmy, who was grinning ruefully, a bruise starting to form around one eye. "Looks like Emmy got a little too close for comfort." Tess said.

"Oh dear." Frigga said, trying not to laugh.

"It's alright, shi's used to it, and stuff like that doesn't hurt hir much. High pain tolerance due to the fact that shi can't have any sort of synthetic painkillers or sedatives." Tess explained.

"Oh?"

"They make hir hallucinate." Tess said. "SHIELD has yet to figure out if it's because shi's a Frost Giant or because shi's mixed blood and we don't have anyone else who we can do any sort of testing on."

"Well, I can see why shi would develop a high pain tolerance then." Frigga said as Emmy apologized and Sif shook her head. "I think we'd best be off, after I see my sons, in any case." She added, looking directly at Loki, who looked momentarily surprised.

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Star: Review plz!


	12. Chapter 12

Star: I own nothing!

It was to Loki's benefit to understand how his jailer's magic worked. It could mean his freedom after all, if he could somehow subvert it into breaking the bonds on his own magic. It would take some doing, but he was certain that the bond between the two of them would be the best place to start looking for weaknesses, now he only needed to access it.

He settled down in the armchair in his room, keeping his breathing even and slow, calm and measured. With each breath he slowed his heartbeat by margins and sank deeper into a trance state, wherein he drew his consciousness inwards, seeking his core.

The bright green of his magic in his consciousness was overshadowed by a wall of red and gold streaked magic, Odin's block against him using his power and keeping him essentially mortal. He was not going to even attempt to break this magic, not from the AllFather himself. What he was looking for wasn't too hard to find. A thread of gold magic, pale in comparison to Odin's fiery gold, extended from his core outwards. Were he able to See magic as his jailer did, he would probably be able to see it attaching him to her.

He probed the thread with his mind, but was unable to feel anything from it. That would take time. If he could 'see' what connected them he could potentially access her consciousness through it. He wouldn't be able to do anything like take control, but he could observe what happened to their connection when she used magic or in other parts of her daily life. It would take time, but he was nothing but patient.

He pulled himself out of the trance and sighed contentedly. Something was going right for once at least. The alarms went off and he flinched a little bit. Not that it was surprising, they seemed to go off every other day and sometimes twice a day. That didn't make their alarm any less annoying, though he supposed it had to be, to get them to pay attention.

He sauntered out of the room once he heard the thundering of the Avengers pass and went into the living room to observe Coulson directing the Avengers from the Tower. The man stood with a cup of coffee in his hand, staring at the screens and calmly giving orders to the Avengers. The man seemed unflappable, even in the face of overwhelming odds.

Loki wondered what kind of reaction he would get if Coulson's daughter, the beast, was hurt. He wondered if it would break the calm exterior, he wondered if Coulson could be as much of a beast as his daughter was. He wondered too, what would have happened if Coulson had died, would he have been fighting off a wild animal trying to claw his throat out?

"You know you don't have to lurk." Coulson commented, startling him out of a daydream of killing one Coulson in front of the other. "So long as you don't interrupt of course." Coulson tilted his head, listening. "Talking to the other resident of the Tower, Agent, and there's a bot coming at you from the south, you may want to get on that. And Stark, it is considered in poor taste to be singing the Mr. Roboto song."

Loki stayed where he was, listening to Coulson speak with the Avengers. He watched the screens discreetly, making notes, as he always did, on the way the Avengers moved and any apparent weaknesses in their defences. He would be free someday, and any information he had was good information. At least their dismissal of him as a non-threat had that advantage.

%&%&%&%

"Someone," Clint grunted, notching another arrow. "Needs to tell," He fired it off. "The Fantastic fucking Four," He leapt as the Doombot exploded. "To control their fucking supervillain!" He landed with a whoof of air in the Hulk's arms and immediately fired off another arrow. "Seriously, where the hell are those guys?"

"Tahiti, I think." Stark said in his ear. "Although they may as well be. Let's tell them not to come back, we don't need them."

"Iron Man…" The Captain said over the comms, the disapproving tone not quite covering the amusement in his voice. "You know we need all the heroes we can get."

"Speaking of which…" Emmy said cheerfully as a red and blue blur flew past, kicking one of the Doombots still hanging around.

"Hey, Widow, your baby brother's shown up!" Stark crowed. Tasha said something very rude in Russian that made Thor roar with laughter, nearly deafening Clint in the process. A Doombot blew up as a slashing wave of hardened air overtook it and Tess dropped onto the Hulk's shoulder, grumbling slightly.

"What's up with you?" She growled in reply. "Oh, that huh?"

"Yes, _that_." She snapped irritably. "And it doesn't help that my mate looks damned good when shi's fighting."

"Please wait until you are back at the Tower to drag hir into some corner, preferably your room, to fuck hir brains out." Clint groaned. Tess chuckled and patted his cheek.

"Kitty need attention from mate." Hulk commented, snatching a Doombot almost lazily out of the air and crushing it.

"Yes, Kitty definitely does."

"**I'll make a note to expect yours and Agent Smith's reports later than the others." **Coulson said through their comms.

"Dad, please don't make any comments that may allude to my sex life, that's just strange." Tess said, rolling her eyes.

"**Noted." **Coulson said, amusement in his voice. There were no more Doombots to smash, so it was time to head back to the Tower.

"Hey kid, nice job!" Stark called to Spiderman, who looked over mid-swing and slammed into the side of a building. "Yowtch. You okay?"

"Yeah." Spiderman said. "I get worse." He said gamely. "Thanks, I mean that comes a lot coming from you guys, the good job thing I mean." He added, sounding nervous and excited.

"You wanna autograph?" Stark asked, flipping his visor up and grinning.

"Yeah, okay, let me reach into my skintight costume and take out the pen and paper I keep there for all any occasion." Spiderman said sarcastically.

"I like this kid." Tess commented.

"Me too, he's got spunk." Clint said.

"Now, I know none of you have real lives outside of this, but I do, so if you'll excuse me I have to go before someone sends out an Amber Alert." Spinderman stuck out his hand and a string of web shot out of it and he swung away. "Okay, I really like that kid." Clint said.

"So, do we know anything about him?" Steve asked.

"Are you kidding, it's SHEILD, they probably know what he sleeps in at night." Stark replied.

"**Footie pyjamas." **Coulson said.

"I still wish to purchase some of those." Thor said thoughtfully as Clint and Tony howled with laughter.

"Put them on your Christmas wishlist, big man." Emmy said.

"I shall!" Thor agreed. "Fair thee well, Man of Spiders!" He called to Spiderman's retreating back. Spiderman waved, already a couple of blocks away.

"Seriously though, who is that kid?" Stark asked.

"**That's classified." **Coulson said, and Clint could just see that little, barely there, smirk on his face.

"You're no fun." Stark pouted.

"Come on, Stark, you really think he's going to tell you anything?" Tasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I could hack the SHIELD files." Stark mused.

"**I suppose you could, I am surprised you haven't done it sooner. Remember anything you find in there is top secret." **Coulson said sternly. **"He's got reasons why he doesn't want his identity known." **

"We should invite him back to the Tower sometime, have a superhero party, maybe invite Xavier's crew, but not the Fantastic Four, at least not Reed." Stark rambled.

"Does he ever shut up?" Tess groused.

"We could gag him." Clint suggested.

"I don't think all the duct tape in the world would do the job." She replied. They arrived back at the Tower and Tess yanked Emmy away from a conversation with Thor, all but dragging her up to the bedroom while Clint saw Loki look on in haughty amusement. The rest of the Avengers just went about their work, used to this by now. Clint couldn't resist one parting shot though. "Keep it down, you're too loud sometimes!"

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Star: Review plz!


	13. Chapter 13

Star: I own nothing!

Tess awoke without the pressing need for release, nor the tightly wound aggression that marked her heat. She stretched languidly, sighing in relief. Her heat was a source of irritation for her, it blocked her more rational responses and brought her 'beast' instincts into sharper focus. She hated the thought of losing control in any situation while she was compromised by her heat. She couldn't get rid of it though, it was hard-wired into her, and she would have had to have given up her entire modified body. That she wasn't willing to do.

She rumbled in contentment and licked the cool shoulder blade that was closest to her. Emmy mumbled and turned over, wrapping strong arms around her and opening bright red eyes. "Good morning." Shi said.

"It is." Tess agreed. Emmy nuzzled her face into Tess' neck fur, right where she was ticklish, earning a chuff of laughter. "We should get up." Tess said lazily. Truth be told she'd rather stay in bed, but she was also quite hungry. Emmy murmured a negative and held her tighter. "I smell bacon."

The words had their intended effect as Emmy shot up from the bed. Tess took a moment to admire her mate's body, all of it. There was little of hir torso, legs and arms that were not scarred and the number both exasperated and impressed Tess. On the one hand they were a testament to Emmy's habit of running headlong into trouble, but on the other they were hir testament to doing hir best to make the world a little safer.

Tess' eyes almost immediately drifted to the cluster of crater-like scars, bullet wounds in Emmy's right hip, thigh and side. She bared her teeth instinctively at the memory that accompanied those scars. They were a physical reminder of the scars that ran deeply in Emmy's soul, and her own. Emmy looked up then and saw her expression.

Hir eyes softened and she walked over to the bed, pulling Tess into a tight hug. "Do not dwell so much on the past, Kitten, you know it only leads to nightmares."

"My nightmares are nothing compared to yours." Tess murmured. Emmy pulled away slightly, a sad smile accentuating the dark circles and premature that were ever-present around hir eyes.

"That is my burden." Shi said. "I am used to it. Come on," Shi added, grinning widely. "You said there was bacon."

"There is." Tess agreed. She imagined, as Emmy hurriedly pulled on clothes and practically skipped out of the room, that she could see the weight of over a thousand year's-worth of memories, people and love set upon her mate's shoulders. A lot of people when they met Emmy had no idea that the happy, friendly creature had known so much sorrow in hir long life, which was exactly the way Emmy wanted to keep it, unless shi was close to them.

Tess shook her head at the thought of Emmy. A lot of people didn't realize just how complicated the half-giant really was, and didn't realize that although the friendliness and energy were authentic, they weren't hir entire personality. Tess had been somewhat stricken when watching Matt Smith's Doctor on Doctor Who because she realized that he and Emmy could very well be the same person.

She wandered downstairs for breakfast and immediately spotted Loki looking on at Emmy trying to wheedle a few more pieces of bacon out of Bruce in distaste. Her lip curled up in a snarl, though it wasn't accompanied by the territorial aggression that it had in the last few days. She still wanted to claw into him, but the urge was more easily controlled, thankfully.

She accepted a cup of tea, and Loki's customary brush of fingertips over her fur and settled down with her spellbook, still working over the problem of the teleport spell. The breakfast chatter continued above her, creating a cocoon of noise that she enfolded herself into and allowed her mind to focus. She preferred having noise to silence when she wanted to concentrate.

She was drawn out of her attempts to revise the spell by a tap on her hand. Bruce smiled and pointed behind her. She turned and looked. "Good morning, ma'am." She said politely to Frigga.

"A good morning to you as well, Tess." The AllMother replied, inclining her head slightly. They began speaking about Tess' abilities and the annoyance and tension she'd been feeling all day seemed to drain away.

%&%&%&%

Clint was glad of not having anything like claustrophobia; it made spying on people a little easier. He was currently holed up in a ventilation shaft overlooking their living room. The space was cramped, but it was big enough that he could fire an arrow if need be. He had one in his hand, just idly running his fingers over the arrowhead as he considered his prey.

Loki of course, was his prey of choice. He did this often, hiding away and tracking the movements of the resident psychopath. He just knew that Loki wasn't taking this incarceration lying down, and hiding away would help him determine when Loki was planning to strike or what his plans actually were.

So far he'd been disappointed, however. From what he'd seen Loki wasn't really planning anything, or if he was he was keeping it well under wraps. He seemed to tiptoe around the Tower, especially when he thought he was alone. It looked like he was treading softly for fear of being abused or something. Good, Clint thought savagely. If Loki had been walking around like he owned the place, Clint wouldn't have been able to resist putting an arrow through his eye. Of course he'd have to be quicker than Tess was.

No, Loki seemed to realize he was skating on thin ice living here, which was almost a shame in Clint's opinion. He wanted an excuse to take the bastard down a couple notches, and be the one to finally put him down. He was a rabid dog to Clint, a very clever rabid dog, but it would only be a matter of time before he bit again, and he'd rather put the bastard down before anyone else got hurt.

Loki left the room as the elevator dinged, opening to admit Coulson. Coulson fiddled with the files he held in his arms for a moment as Loki slunk off, casting a curious look at Coulson as he did so. Clint's hand tightened on the arrowhead; no way in hell would Loki get another chance at Coulson, that wasn't happening.

"Agent Barton." Coulson said drily. "It is rude to spy."

"I thought that was what SHIELD was all about?" Clint quipped, pushing open the vent cover and poking his head out. He gave his handler a cheeky grin. Coulson gave him a stern look, but Clint knew him well enough to spot the smile in his eyes.

"I don't have to worry about you going rogue, do I?" Coulson asked calmly.

"Just keeping an eye on things." Clint shrugged. "Doesn't hurt. I mean at least half of the team just writes him off as being harmless, I don't want to be caught off guard when he proves he isn't."

"You're not alone in that." Coulson informed him.

"I know. I see that daughter of yours watching him like he's a particularly nasty prey animal and she's just waiting for her chance to pounce." Clint said.

"Which she is." Coulson said. "It's times like this that I am grateful for her iron control over her… less human instincts."

"Loki doesn't seem to consider her a threat." Clint pointed out. "He teases her, gets her all riled up. He's testing her, waiting for her to lose control."

"He'll regret it if she does." Coulson said flatly.

"He doesn't seem to think so. Treats her instincts as a charming little joke, thinks she's far more human than she actually is." Clint said.

"Should perhaps show him some footage." Coulson mused. "One that shows exactly what happens when she does lose control."

Clint dropped from the ceiling, landing on his feet. "You mean from that mission?" He asked quietly. Coulson didn't say anything. "Didn't know there was anything recovered."

"That's classified." Coulson replied.

"And that's a yes." Clint said. "She leveled that place, kilometer radius sinkhole." He murmured. "I suppose you could dig for that information. You didn't…?"

"There was nothing recovered." Coulson said. "If there was, it would have been destroyed, nothing like that ever needs to exist."

"You got that right." Clint growled. "That footage would give the bastard quite the jolt though."

"We'll save it for when he really starts to piss Tess off." Coulson said. "I'm certain Tess doesn't want that sort of thing spread around if she can help it."

"Not to mention the memories that she doesn't want to remember." Clint mumbled.

"There's that too." Coulson sighed, sounding sad. "Sometimes I agree with my wife, that I shouldn't have allowed her into this career."

"She would have gone for it anyways." Clint told him. Coulson smiled.

"She's my daughter, of course she would."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~

Star: Review plz!


	14. Chapter 14

Star: I own nothing!

"So the hermit has decided to emerge from his cave today." Loki looked up and scowled into the grinning blue face of the Jotun. The weather had been cool of late, and he was taking advantage by sitting on the balcony to read. He tried not to attribute his comfort in cold climates to his Jotun predecessors, but it was a losing battle. Seemed there was a whole slew of things waiting to remind him that he was just a monster.

"Go away." He said shortly.

"I guess you must like the cold as much as I do, maybe even more." The monster said instead of leaving. "The snow is very nice, though we don't get it too deep around here, the city keeps things a little warmer you know?"

"How fascinating." Loki said sarcastically.

"You know I wonder if you've got something other than Jotun in you, you are quite small after all." The Jotun said amiably.

"How would I know, monster? I was abandoned, unwanted even by the creatures that are my own kind." Loki snarled. The Jotun tilted its head at him, considering him with loathsome blood-coloured eyes. There was a softness though in those eyes that he didn't like, something like pity.

"You refer to me, and Jotun as monsters all the time." The creature mused. "Yet you yourself are a Jotun."

"And look at me, am I not a monster, as so many are saying?" Loki demanded.

"So, is doing all this trying to live up to your so-called destiny?" The Jotun asked curiously. "Are you trying to prove everyone right?"

"I am a monster, do you deny that?" Loki said.

"If I was to say yes, it would be because of your actions, not because of what you are." The Jotun answered. "You are who you choose to be, how you were born, what you are born as has nothing to do with that."

"You say that so certainly." Loki sneered.

"Doesn't make sense to me." The creature shrugged. "Not that long ago white people, those from Europe, believed that those with dark skin, commonly from Africa, were inferior, less than human, stupid, a notion they used to justify slavery, cruelty and racism. Tell me, does that sound logical?"

"The colour of one's skin is no indication of intelligence or inherent humanity." Loki said. "Humans are such stupid creatures."

"And yet you believe that because you happen to have blue skin, red eyes and an immunity to cold that you are a monster." The Jotun said.

"It is not comparable." Loki protested.

"Of course it is." The Jotun replied. "You cannot tell a monster by looking at them. Most of the monsters I've come across in my life were perfectly human."

"And what do you consider to be monsters?" Loki asked snidely.

"Those who do harm for no other reason than to do harm." The Jotun answered. "People who are cruel because they like it and basically anyone who would willfully and repeatedly harm a child."

"So, by your definition, would you consider me to be a monster?" Loki asked, not sure why. The Jotun tilted its head at him, considering him again. For a moment he was struck by how old the creature seemed in that moment, as though he could see the weight of their years. It was a foolish thought, of course, this monster was only a few centuries older than him.

"It's often not that easy." It told him. "There are many who believe that the things they do are just, even though they can be horrible things… I would not call you a monster yet, but you might have become one if your plan had gone accordingly."

"I have killed people." Loki pointed out.

"So have I." The Jotun replied. "Many to protect someone else. Soldiers kill all the time and no one calls them evil for it."

"Are you likening yourself to a soldier?" Loki asked.

"I have been one." The creature shrugged. "My point is, it's not what you are that defines you, but who you are, and no one can define you but you."

"Pretty words."

"Words I live by." The Jotun replied. "Along with ones that my beautiful Matteo once told me. Love is not something to be hidden away, but given freely."

"Hmph, love." Loki snorted.

"It is the core of my beliefs." The Jotun said. "You'll probably be wanting to get inside soon, my hip's acting up, so it's going to rain."

"How kind of you to let me know." Loki sneered.

"I know!" The Jotun said, annoyingly cheerful. It patted his shoulder roughly and then skipped off, ridiculously curly hair bouncing with its movements.

%&%&%&%

"I don't know why you bother." Clint growled at Emmy. Shi stuck her tongue out at him and took another swig from her bottle of whisky.

"I kind of want to make him admit he's wrong." Shi supplied. "It's a challenge, because he thinks he so smart. Also, if we can get him to stop hating himself, maybe less of a chance he'll try and hurt people again?"

"Sound logic, as much as I hate to admit it." Tony said, holding up his one allotted beer bottle for the day. "Emmy, my beer is going warm." He whined, widening brown eyes at the half-giant.

"You are a child." Clint said, laughing. Emmy merely chuckled and pressed one finger to the glass bottle. Instantly frost raced across the surface.

"Yowch! Not so cold." Tony complained.

"Och, complain that it's too cold, complain that it's too warm, can never satisfy you, can I?" Emmy said, ruffling Tony's hair. "And you really need to wash your hair with something other than grease." Shi added, wiping hir hand on hir pants, leaving an oily black stain.

"Ah, Dummy's fault." Tony said. "he was trying to 'help' again."

"How is the bucket of bolts and his brothers doing these days anyways?" Clint asked.

"Why not go see them yourself?" Emmy asked.

"Because he's been banned from the workshop for trying to turn Dummy into a bucking bronco." Tony replied. Emmy blinked a couple of times and then roared with laughter. Shi was laughing so hard that the stool shi was sitting on tipped over backwards, depositing hir, and most of hir whisky, on the floor at Thor's feet.

"Help me up." Emmy demanded, still giggling like a child. Thor chuckled and grabbed the arm Emmy had up in the air, pulling hir to hir feet. "Oof, how's it going big man?"

"I saw you speaking with my brother." Thor began, looking a little pensive.

"Aye." Emmy agreed. "Do you not like it?"

"No, I just wonder how you manage it." Thor replied. "He completely ignores me, yells at me or stalks off when I try." Emmy scratched at hir head, looking as though shi were considering the question.

"Well, sneaking up on him helps." Emmy said. "Don't give him a chance to react before you start talking, but do it in an open area so he does have some way to escape and you're not invading his privacy. Also, just start talking, about anything. Sometimes it helps to act like you're not even talking to him, just talking to yourself. I think he wants someone to talk to, but he just won't admit it."

"Still say it's stupid talking to him." Clint grumbled.

"Ach, I have stupid ideas always, so far _this_ one hasn't got me hurt." Emmy replied.

"Ah yes, unlike so many of your other ideas." Clint said. "There's a reason SHIELD gives hir newbies for a practice run."

"Let me guess, because shi's crazy and it's a good way to see if they can deal with stress?" Tony quipped. "Weed out the weak?"

"Exactly." Clint replied.

"Hey, you went through it and you're still here, what does that say about you?" Emmy demanded playfully.

"I come from a family of carnies, I was crazy long before I met you." Clint replied.

"At least you admit it." Tony quipped. Clint chucked an apple at his head.


	15. Chapter 15

Star: I own nothing!

Steve had his hand on Emmy's back, feeling hir breathing raggedly as shi knelt on the ground, fighting for control. Hir whole frame shook with the effort, and with the suppressed panic response to the memories their mission had awoken. There had been hostages, all of them children. Emmy had nearly lost control, but none of the children had been harmed, so shi was able to reign in hir rage enough to get the job done, but now shi was suffering for it.

He didn't flinch as a dark shape flowed up beside him and knelt along with Emmy. Tess rubbed her cheek along Emmy's shoulder, crooning softly. "Tasha is bringing the Quinjet." She said softly. "I don't think we'll be walking." Without waiting for an answer she began to lick at Emmy's hair, a grooming exercise that was a calming mechanism not only for Emmy, but for her as well.

"That's a good idea." Steve said. He heard the hum of the Quinjet's engines and helped Emmy to hir feet with Tess supporting her lover. Emmy walked as though in a daze and didn't protest getting sat down in the Quinjet or try to talk Natasha into letting hir fly instead. Shi didn't say anything in fact, red eyes far away and dull.

When they got to the Tower Lady Frigga and Lady Sif were waiting for them. Lady Frigga stood, eyes wide. "My apologies, My Lady." Tess said softly. "But my mate needs my attention right now, I will not be able to speak with you today."

"Of course." Lady Frigga said calmly. Tess led Emmy up the stairs and away.

"I have seen that look on many a warrior's face after seeing a gruesome battle." Lady Sif commented. "For one who has seen many battles, I assume the Jotun does not show often the effects of battle that way."

"There were children involved." Steve explained. "Shi… there's bad history there. That's all I can say, it's not my story to tell. When a child is threatened, shi goes into a blind rage."

"A berserker?" Sif asked.

"Only when it is children." Steve said. "I've never seen it firsthand, but I've seen the after-effects of it. Back in the war, when we first met."

"You've met before?" Lady Frigga asked. "Wait, I believe Emmy has mentioned this, though shi did not say how."

"I knew hir as a him back then, called hirself Rick. Let me tell you, Rick made a hell of a first impression." Steve leaned back on the kitchen table. "Thor's told you about my efforts in the war, right?" Ladies Sif and Frigga nodded. "We were looking to break into one of Hydra's military bases. Problem was it was deep in enemy territory and fiercely guarded. We figured if we could fly overhead and drop down that would be the best thing. Unfortunately Howard was unavailable, landed himself in the hospital for some silly stunt, so we approached one of the English Air Force commanders at their base…"

_Flashback_

"_That's a dangerous mission you got there, no doubt." The heavyset commander sighed, cigar clenched between his teeth. "They'll be looking for anything in the skies, no doubt about it. It's a suicide mission."_

"_We understand if you haven't got any, though frankly you'd think your boys were made of tougher stuff." Peggy said smoothly. The base commander eyed her for a moment and then snorted._

"_Didn't say I didn't have anyone for the job. I actually think I got just the squadron for you." He said. "Right bunch of crazy sons-of-bitches they are."_

"_The Howling Commandos aren't exactly known for their sanity, sir." Steve cut in. The commander glanced at him, deep-set eyes twinkling with amusement._

"_If half the stories I've heard are true, I'd say not." he replied. "Well, we'd best find our squadron leader. He'll likely be in the bar."_

"_Most of my men will likely be there too, we can collect them." Steve said. The base commander nodded and stood up, leading Steve and Peggy out into the cold January night. As they neared the bar Steve picked up the telltale sounds of a bar fight in progress. He sighed, hoping it wasn't Dum Dum Dugan who had started it this time. _

_The base commander yanked open the door and Steve stepped in just in time to see a very tall and muscular man lift Bucky off the ground by his collar. He moved without thinking, shoving his way through brawling soldiers and brought back his fist, smashing it into the big man's face. The man barely moved, but blinked extremely dark blue eyes at Steve, looking down at him ponderously. It was very rare that Steve had to look up at someone since the serum. A hush fell over the crowded bar._

"_That's enough." Steve barked, hoping there were enough sober men to listen. "We have business, now stop this nonsense, and you," He pointed at the large man still holding Bucky, who blinked dazedly at him. "Release him now." For a moment he didn't know if the man would punch him. He could probably take him, but it would be tedious. Suddenly the man's face split into a disarming smile and he let go of Bucky, chuckling._

"_Got a powerful right hook, soldier boy." He said in a broad, even Scottish accent. And just like that the atmosphere relaxed._

"_Captain Smith." The base commander said, wiggling his way through the crowd._

"_Aye?" The man, Captain Smith enquired. _

"_We may have a mission for you." The base commander said._

"_Right now?" The base commander nodded. Captain Smith sighed. "Alright, any of my boys still sober enough to see straight, stop drinking, we may be going out tonight!" He roared. "Now, just give me a moment to clear my head." He said and walked out of the bar. Steve followed and watched in confusion as Captain Smith dived headlong into a snowdrift and rolled around in it for a moment. He got up, eyes bright, looking as though he'd never been drunk, pulling his long curly hair into a ponytail. He stuck out a hand for Steve to shake._

"_Squadron leader Rick Smith of Hell on High." _

_End Flashback_

"They were crazy, the lot of them, doing tricks and dodging each other in their planes in midair, but it worked for them." Steve said. "Flew a few missions with them because of their sheer daredevil tactics. The one I'm thinking about was one of the last. We were liberating a concentration camp, which is where the Nazis would send people they thought were… undesirable. Jewish people, mostly. The camps worked them to death, shot them, starved them, gassed them, awful things. So we were finishing up with the men's camp, with Rick and his crew nowhere to be seen…"

_Flashback_

_One of the gaunt, pale-faced men they had just freed pulled at Steve's arm, babbling something in German. "He says there's a woman's and children's camp over the next rise." Montgomery said. _

"_We'll get to them too." Steve said grimly. All the sudden shots rang out from the direction that the man had been pointing. After making sure the company that had accompanied the Howling Commandos had control of the situation Steve led his men towards the sound of fighting. Once they'd cleared the rise, the fighting was over, and all that was left was the carnage inside and outside the barbed wire of the camp. _

_Nazi bodies lay everywhere and picking their way delicately through them was a crowd of emaciated women and children, flanked by the flight squadron of Hell on High. In the lead was Rick, blood spatters on his clothes and face, blue eyes looking black with anger. He looked like Death himself, and the illusion was only spoiled by the little girl, maybe only seven years old, that he was carrying. She had her arms wrapped around his neck trustingly. I knew then that most of the Nazis had fallen at Rick's hands. _

_End Flashback_

"What happened to the child?" Lady Frigga asked.

"Her parents were both dead, so Emmy took her with hir. Heard shi started looking for someone to adopt her right away." Steve chuckled. "I also heard that little girl, named Esther, didn't want to be adopted by anyone but hir. In the end shi found someone who Esther liked and who could take care of her. Emmy faked hir death not long after that."

"Why?" Lady Sif asked.

"When you're an immortal amongst mortals, you tend to keep moving around to avoid suspicion. Shi's faked hir death many times." Coulson said. "SHIELD is the reason shi's stayed in one place as long as shi has now."

"So shi never saw Esther again?" Frigga asked.

"Actually, shi does." Coulson said. "Esther is one of the privileged few outside of SHIELD that knows what Emmy really is. When Emmy entered SHIELD shi sought out Esther and told her the truth, explaining why shi had given up Esther. Esther's in a nursing home these days, but Emmy visits her every week without fail."

"Shi is a mother." Frigga said. "I sensed it the moment I met hir."


End file.
